Introduction » Viewing different types of data » Sample files

Sample files

Region files (*.rgn) are data files that represent typical areas for analysis. These include countries - England, Scotland Northern Ireland and Wales - and all of the counties in the UK. Regions are the mechanism by which data in sample and census files are extracted.

For region files the data window contains three tabs

• Descriptions
• Legend
• Data Tables

Sample files (*.csf) are developed from sample (i.e. partial) surveys. That is they are surveys that sample a proportion of the country, whose results are extrapolated / interpolated to generate national datasets.

The sample files originate from the field survey components of the countryside surveys and should only be used by advanced users. The selection of sample sites was stratified by the ITE land classification, which identified 32 (later expanded to 40) ecological and biogeographic land classes¹. Sample data is automatically interpolated across the 40 land classes according to the means and variances for each land cover type (such as 'Improved grass').

For sample files the map window contains additional tools that allow the user to refine the region they are specifying. The user may have a specific area of interest they wish to analyse. The map window has 4 tools for refining regions (see the tutorial section on "Refining regions").

Above : Sample files data window

For sample files the data window contains five tabs

• Descriptions
• Legend
• Data Tables
• Means
• Variances

The additional tabs allow the user to see and modify the means and variances used to interpolate the sample data to produce national figures