Data

Data are the values for each feature for each artifact (or each assemblage if you have chosen Use Assemblages from the Assemblages or Artifacts menu). The data are presented in the Data table in a spreadsheet format. Each row of the spreadsheet represents the values for a single artifact (assemblage); each column the values for a single feature. Blanks are okay - it is not necessary to have a value for every feature for every artifact (assemblage). In the features table you can specify how OptiPath is to consider blanks and zeroes in the data (as unknown, zero, absence, or both a zero value and an absence).

Data can be logical (true/false, 0/1, present/absent, etc.), nominal (red, blue, green, big, medium, small, etc.) or numerical (0, 1, 73, 3.14159, 2.71828, etc.). However, within a given column all data should be of the same type.

You can import data from Excel or you can create it from scratch in OptiPath. You may also export data to Excel.

Data Menu

The Data menu contains a single item:

Edit - allows you to open the data table and edit the artifacts (assemblages) and their parameters and their data.

Data Table

In the Data table you may add, edit and delete artifacts (assemblages) and their data. There are a number of attributes associated with each artifact (assemblage):

Exclude - this parameter allows you to exclude an artifact (assemblage) temporarily from your seriation. The alternative is to delete the artifact (assemblage) in which case all information and data related to the artifact (assemblage) will be lost to this seriation permanently. In contrast, using Exclude allows you to resurrect the artifact (assemblage) and its data by clearing the Exclude field. All Exclude fields can be cleared simultaneously by selecting Include All from the Artifacts or Assemblages menu.

Index - an integer value assigned to an artifact (assemblage) that allows you to sort artifacts in a list.

Artifact - a name that uniquely identifies the artifact (assemblage). Artifact (assemblage) names are restricted to 50 characters. The name is required for each artifact (assemblage). Artifact (assemblage) names are automatically synchronized with the artifacts (assemblages) table. An artifact (assemblage) cannot have the same name as another artifact (assemblage) and cannot have the same name as an assemblage (artifact). If you add/delete/edit an artifact (assemblage) name on the spreadsheet it will be updated elsewhere and vice versa.

Features - there is a separate column for each feature. Feature names cannot be edited in this table. Each cell in a feature column reflects the value of the measure for that feature for artifact (assemblage) in the corresponding row. Values can be numbers or letters or words, depending upon the feature data type.

For information on the Feature parameter Data, see Features.