For the study of spatially distributed phenomena, standardizing count data by underlying populations facilitates meaningful comparison across different times and places. However, significant barriers to such standardization are faced by researchers studying small geographic areas, where the capacity for collecting and reporting demographic information is limited. These challenges may include population data that are spatially or temporally misaligned with count data. Moreover, the quality of standardized data depends on the accuracy of both the count data and the population data used for standardization. This study argues that such challenges represent not just technical problems, but also social and ethical ones. Using the case of homicide rates for small geographic areas in Cape Town, South Africa, it provides a set of methods to address these challenges, and in so doing, demonstrates how such an approach can provide useful and more nuanced insight into the spatial distribution of phenomena of interest.

中文翻译：

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审问“南非谋杀中心”：开普敦凶杀案风险空间分布

对于空间分布现象的研究，按基础人群标准化计数数据有助于跨不同时间和地点进行有意义的比较。然而，研究小型地理区域的研究人员面临着此类标准化的重大障碍，这些区域收集和报告人口统计信息的能力有限。这些挑战可能包括在空间或时间上与计数数据不一致的人口数据。此外，标准化数据的质量取决于用于标准化的计数数据和人口数据的准确性。本研究认为，此类挑战不仅代表技术问题，还代表社会和伦理问题。使用南非开普敦小地理区域的凶杀率案例，