Creating a hotspot analysis

Create a hotspot analysis to reveal clusters of events or other data, such as crimes or traffic accidents.

About this task

A hotspot is a combination of colored polygons or circles on a map that represent a cluster of data. Circular hotspots indicate the relative distance between data and the relative density of the data. Polygonal hotspots indicate an area that contains all of the data. Hotspots are displayed on the map when data follow the pattern or correlation rules that are configured in the analysis.

For circular hotspots, the color of the inner circle represents the density score for data that is collected in the cluster. The color ranges from yellow to red to represent density from low to high. The radius of the outer white circle represents the distance of the data that is furthest from the center of the hotspot.
Remember: If the selected data is evenly distributed in the selected area, the analysis might not find any clusters to display as hotspots.

Procedure

To create a hotspot analysis:

  1. Select the option to create a hotspot analysis, and specify the required values for the Common, When, Where, and What pages. If your administrator configures time and date filtering to be optional in a data source's minimal properties, you can choose not to apply the time and date filter settings that are specified on the When page. A clock icon is displayed on the What page next to data sources for which optional time and date filtering is configured. Click the clock icon to either enable or disable time and date filtering.
  2. On the Analytic Details page, specify additional parameters.
    1. Select a cluster type.
        • Select Cluster by distance to compare and collect facts that match the following requirements:
          • any of the specified categories
          • within the specified time period
          • within the specified distance
        • Select Cluster by distance and time to compare and collect facts that match the following requirements:
          • in different categories
          • within the specified time period
          • within the specified distance between facts
          • within the specified time interval between facts
    2. Specify the minimum number of data items required to form a cluster and the maximum distance between data items.
    3. If you chose Cluster by distance and time, specify the maximum time interval.
    4. Choose whether to display the analysis results as a circle or a polygon.
  3. On the Appearance page, select which color to display for each value. For example, a greater value might be dark red, the lowest value a light yellow, and an average value blue.
  4. Optional: Specify who to notify when analysis results are ready, and whether to run the analysis on a schedule.
  5. Click Save and Run.