SOME METHODS FOR INVESTIGATING SPATIAL CLUSTERING, WITH EPIDEMIOLOGICAPPLICATIONS

The paper considers the problem of identifying spatial clustering, for instance of one group of individuals in relation to the spatial distr ibution of another. First, some of the literature is reviewed, some op erational problems of practical investigations are discussed and a dat a set is introduced that involves a group of laryngeal cancer patients and a group of lung cancer patients in south Lancashire. Two techniqu es, an integrated squared difference statistic and a two-dimensional v ersion of the scan statistic, are then outlined, some of their propert ies are discussed and they are applied to the data set. The final sect ion takes stock of the data analysis and the characteristics of the te chniques.