
5
Point Process Methods
In order to develop statistical methods for analysing point pa tterns, and even in orde r to formulate
clearly the scien tific questions that can be answered by point pattern data, we need the concept of a
point process. A po int process is a random mechanism whose outcome is a point pattern.
This chapter develops terminology a nd basic concepts for point processes, and explains how
these concepts can be applied to the analysis of point patterns.
5.1 Motivation
In analysing a spatial point patter n dataset, the researcher w ill pose questions such as: Are the points
spread uniformly over the survey region? Does the density of