Methods
Data was gathered from three primary sources, while nine variables were used to perform our analysis. Spreadsheets, a digital elevation model, and a land-cover raster were used to generate the variables needed for the analysis.
Three of the variables had to be computed. These were:
- Location error
- Available sky
- Aspect
Land cover type, elevation, available sky, and aspect were all extracted from their respective raster data-set. These variables were placed into the program Gnumeric so that statistics and visual outputs could be easily produced.
The data was then cleaned to remove errors caused by animal interference, and to keep it within the scope of of the available land-cover data. Chi Squared tests were performed on all three collar types to determine whether or not all of them could be included in further testing. After testing it was found that only the Tel Gen 3 collars could be used in the analysis.
Exploratory analysis was performed to quickly identify any relationships between the variables. Continuous variables were tested as the independent variable against fix rate and PDOP using regression testing. Categorical data was also tested as the independent variable against the fix rate and PDOP using ANOVA testing.
