geocoder

Using

If my_address_file.csv is a file in the current working directory with an address column named address, then the DeGAUSS command:

docker run --rm -v $PWD:/tmp ghcr.io/degauss-org/geocoder:3.4.1 my_address_file.csv

will produce my_address_file_geocoder_3.4.1_score_threshold_0.5.csv with added columns:

• matched_street, matched_city, matched_state, matched_zip: matched address componets (e.g., matched_street is the street the geocoder matched with the input address); can be used to investigate input address misspellings, typos, etc.
• precision: The method/precision of the geocode. The value will be one of:
  • range: interpolated based on address ranges from street segments
  • street: center of the matched street
  • intersection: intersection of two streets
  • zip: centroid of the matched zip code
  • city: centroid of the matched city
• score: The percentage of text match between the given address and the geocoded result, expressed as a number between 0 and 1. A higher score indicates a closer match. Note that each score is relative within a precision method (i.e. a score of 0.8 with a precision of range is not the same as a score of 0.8 with a precision of street).
• lat and lon: geocoded coordinates for matched address
• geocode_result: A character string summarizing the geocoding result. The value will be one of
  • geocoded: the address was geocoded with a precision of either range or street and a score of 0.5 or greater.
  • imprecise_geocode: the address was geocoded, but results were suppressed because the precision was intersection, zip, or city and/or the score was less than 0.5.
  • po_box: the address was not geocoded because it is a PO Box
  • cincy_inst_foster_addr: the address was not geocoded because it is a known institutional address, not a residential address
  • non_address_text: the address was not geocoded because it was blank or listed as "foreign", "verify", or "unknown"

Optional Argument

• Geocodes with a resulting precision of intersection, zip, or city are returned with a missing lat and lon because they are likely too inaccurate and/or too imprecise to be used for further analysis.
• By default, lat and lon are also returned as missing if the score is less than 0.5 (regardless of the precision).
• This threshold can be changed by including an optional argument in the docker call (e.g., docker run --rm -v $PWD:/tmp degauss/geocoder:3.2.0 my_address_file.csv 0.6).
• Supplying all instead of a numeric score_threshold returns all geocodes regardless of score, precision, or po_box, cincy_inst_foster_addr, and non_address_text filters.

Geomarker Methods

Input address data formatting

• Other columns may be present, but it is recommended to only include address and an optional identifier column (e.g., id). Fewer columns will increase geocoding speed.
• Address data must be in one column called address.
• Separate the different address components with a space
• Do not include apartment numbers or "second address line" (but its okay if you can't remove them)
• ZIP codes must be five digits (i.e. 32709) and not "plus four" (i.e. 32709-0000)
• Do not try to geocode addresses without a valid 5 digit zip code; this is used by the geocoder to complete its initial searches and if attempted, it will likely return incorrect matches
• Spelling should be as accurate as possible, but the program does complete "fuzzy matching" so an exact match is not necessary
• Capitalization does not affect results
• Abbreviations may be used (i.e. St. instead of Street or OH instead of Ohio)
• Use Arabic numerals instead of written numbers (i.e. 13 instead of thirteen)
• Address strings with out of order items could return NA (i.e. 3333 Burnet Ave Cincinnati 45229 OH)

Geomarker Data

• geocoder.db is a SQL database prepared following the instructions here using 2021 TIGER/Line Street Range Address files from the Census
• For this container, it is hosted at https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi:10.7910/DVN/G80WU1

DeGAUSS Details

For detailed documentation on DeGAUSS, including general usage and installation, please see the DeGAUSS homepage.