

- #Datathief windows how to#
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To do so, first click on the icon at the top middle of the control window that looks like a line graph. We would like to extract the line in the figure. Those three points define the coordinate system of the figure, and now if you move that blue point with the + through it around the figure, it will tell you where it is placed in the coordinate system of the figure. Here is where you enter the x,y coordinates in the coordinate system of the figure for each of the three datum points that you just placed. At the top left hand of the control window you will see Ref 0 in red, Ref 1 in blue, and Ref 2 in green. Drag another one to the upper value on the x axis, and the third one to the upper value on the y axis. Drag one of the circles to the intersection of the x and y axes. You should now see the figure in the DataThief control window, with three colored points (red green and blue) that look like a circle with an X through them (there is another blue point that looks like a circle with a + through it… ignore that one for now). And click on File->Open and from the file browser select the figure file.
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Then download the jpeg for the figure from the html of the paper (or, alternatively, take a screen shot of the figure in the paper). To extract the data from this graph, first download DataThief to your laptop from the DataThief website. Let’s take an example: in the paper “Comparative estimation of the reproduction number for pandemic influenza from daily case notification data” by Chowell et al, there is a figure (Figure 1) that shows daily case notification data of Spanish Flu hospitalizations in 1918 in San Francisco:
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If the data is in graphical format, there are free programs, such as DataThief, that can be used to extract the data into a numerical file. One thing to keep in mind is that any data that appears in a journal publication is fair game to use, even if it appears in graphical format only. And of course statistical models are wholly developed using sources of data.īecoming adept at finding sources of data relevant to a model you are studying is a learned skill, but unfortunately one that isn’t taught in any textbook! To sum up, DataThief is a flexible tool which can help you interpret the data from scanned or captured graph images.Connecting mathematical models to predicting reality usually involves comparing your model to data, and finding model parameters that make the model most closely match observations in data. The advanced users also have the option to create functions and constants that improve the data extraction from certain images. It supports the most popular image formats and the calibration features enable you to trace even low quality scans.Ī useful feature is the ability to save the configuration to a profile in order to load it later when dealing with similar graphs.
#Datathief windows how to#
Using the application is quite easy after you understand how to calibrate it and trace the graphs. You can also specify how many values you need to extract from the graph in order to perform an accurate analysis. The result can be fine-tuned by specifying the precision and the tolerance level in the Settings tab.


This app can follow the line and export the coordinates to a text file in order to use them in your projects. If the graph has multiple lines, you need to grab the data for each one by specifying its color, start and end. For the graphs that do not have values for the points of origin, a four-point reference system is also available. The program can define the coordinate system by using three points which should be sufficient for the vast majority of 2D graphs.
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Since this step determines the overall data accuracy, it is important that you take your time and even read the manual available on the developer’s website. In order to capture the data you need to calibrate the application and trace each line from the graph. You can also use it for extracting the data table in order to analyze the data and calculate trends or average values. This tool is valuable for the users who need to grab the data from a chart in order to use it for their own charts and presentations. The program allows you to interpret the graphs from screenshots, scanned documents and other images. DataThief is a compact application designed to reverse engineer graphs and charts in order to extract the data used for generating them.
