Custom Data Sets with differing scales

[DonaldCatanzaro]

Hi All,

I am starting to learn BA so this is a newbie question.

I have some of my own data that I want to use in Business Analyst and the data is at the following scales:  Census Block, County, State

So what I would like to do is bring this into BA and then allow BA to interpolate at scales in between these three but when it is at those scales to use that data.  I have imported my county data following the steps at the Blog Series here http://blogs.esri.com/esri/arcgis/2011/10/12/blog-series-1-of-5-kyle/

I decided that i should have no aggregation during the BDS set up because it seemed to me that was what I should do.

Anyway I am a bit puzzled on how to set up this BDS so I can begin working on it.  Any help and/or links would be appreciated.

[Jason_RobinsonRobinson]

Hi All,

I am starting to learn BA so this is a newbie question.

I have some of my own data that I want to use in Business Analyst and the data is at the following scales:  Census Block, County, State

So what I would like to do is bring this into BA and then allow BA to interpolate at scales in between these three but when it is at those scales to use that data.  I have imported my county data following the steps at the Blog Series here http://blogs.esri.com/esri/arcgis/2011/10/12/blog-series-1-of-5-kyle/

I decided that i should have no aggregation during the BDS set up because it seemed to me that was what I should do.

Anyway I am a bit puzzled on how to set up this BDS so I can begin working on it.  Any help and/or links would be appreciated.

Donald,

I think the first resource to start would be the help on the custom data setup wizard in Business Analyst if you haven't already taken a look at it.

http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/#/Custom_data_setup_tool/000z000000tm000000/

Selecting the aggregation method is likely the most important decision as this is telling Business Analyst how to summarize your data.

The Apportionment Method determines how a variable is apportioned to a portion of geography. When an analysis cuts across a geography, the analysis includes only the value of the variable that falls inside the analysis area. Depending on the variable, you can choose apportioning by area or one of the three primary demographics at the block point level (Population, Households, or Housing Units). For any standard Esri variable selected, the Apportionment Method is automatically selected. When selecting your own data, be sure to change the Apportionment Mehtod to reflect the source of your data. For example, if your variable was Sales by ZIP Code and was based on household data, select Households 2010.

Regards,
Jason R.

[DonaldCatanzaro]

Thanks !  I am using the Custom Data Setup and I am asking about the apportionment method.

I have three scales where the answer is KNOWN:  Block, County, State

Therefore, at all OTHER scales (e.g. Block Group, Tract, ZCTA etc.) I want to use an apportionment method.

How can I do that in Business Analyst ?

Failing that I guess it makes sense to start at the Block level and use the apportionment method for all other scales.

-Don

[Jason_RobinsonRobinson]

Thanks !  I am using the Custom Data Setup and I am asking about the apportionment method.

I have three scales where the answer is KNOWN:  Block, County, State

Therefore, at all OTHER scales (e.g. Block Group, Tract, ZCTA etc.) I want to use an apportionment method.

How can I do that in Business Analyst ?

Failing that I guess it makes sense to start at the Block level and use the apportionment method for all other scales.

-Don

Donald,

Probably the easiest thing to do is simply create the one block group custom BDS layer and then in BA Preferences>Data tab set it to block apportionment.  No real needs to create the other larger geography custom BDS layers unless there are some unique data fields that your block group table does not have.  Or are you looking to create your own hiearchy in advanced tolerance settings?

Regards,
Jason R.