Hierarchical Modeling and Analysis for Spatial Data

Among the many uses of hierarchical modeling, their application to the statistical analysis of spatial and spatio-temporal data from areas such as epidemiology And environmental science has proven particularly fruitful. Yet to date, the few books that address the subject have been either too narrowly focused on specific aspects of spatial analysis, or written at a level often inaccessible to those lacking a strong background in mathematical statistics.

Hierarchical Modeling and Analysis for Spatial Data is the first accessible, self-contained treatment of hierarchical methods, modeling, and data analysis for spatial and spatio-temporal data. Starting with overviews of the types of spatial data, the data analysis tools appropriate for each, and a brief review of the Bayesian approach to statistics, the authors discuss hierarchical modeling for univariate spatial response data, including Bayesian kriging and lattice (areal data) modeling. They then consider the problem of spatially misaligned data, methods for handling multivariate spatial responses, spatio-temporal models, and spatial survival models. The final chapter explores a variety of special topics, including spatially varying coefficient models.

This book provides clear explanations, plentiful illustrations --some in full color--a variety of homework problems, and tutorials and worked examples using some of the field's most popular software packages.. Written by a team of leaders in the field, it will undoubtedly remain the primary textbook and reference on the subject for years to come.

This book was a pleasure to review. Most of the emphasis is on insight and intuition with relatively little on traditional multivariate techniques. I also found some of the explanations delightful...[W]hile they did not convert me to Bayesianism, [the authors] made me reconsider some of my assumptions. They later state 'Our book is intended as a research monograph, presenting the state of the art' and my impression is that they have succeeded...In many sections the formulae are augmented by showing R or S code, making it easy to actually apply the mathematics. In summary, this is a nice book.
-Short Book Reviews of the International Statistical Institute
The book contains a wealth of material not available elsewhere in a unified manner. Each chapter contains worked out examples using some well known software packages and has exercises with related computer code and data on a supporting web page. The book is up to date in its coverage...an important addition to the literature on spatial data analysis.
-Zentralblatt MATH 1053