titanic3_doc.txt

# Titanic dataset V3.5
# Data source: http://biostat.mc.vanderbilt.edu/wiki/pub/Main/DataSets/titanic.html
# Variable descriptions:
#   * pclass          Passenger Class (1 = 1st; 2 = 2nd; 3 = 3rd)
#   * survived        Survival (0 = No; 1 = Yes)
#   * name            Name
#   * sex             Sex
#   * age             Age
#   * sibsp           Number of Siblings/Spouses Aboard
#   * parch           Number of Parents/Children Aboard
#   * ticket          Ticket Number
#   * fare            Passenger Fare
#   * cabin           Cabin
#   * embarked        Port of Embarkation (C = Cherbourg; Q = Queenstown; S = Southampton)
#   * boat            Lifeboat
#   * body            Body Identification Number
#   * home.dest       Home/Destination
#
# Detailed description:
#
# NAME:  titanic3
# TYPE:  Census
# SIZE:  1309 Passengers, 14 Variables
#
# DESCRIPTIVE ABSTRACT: The titanic3 data frame describes the survival
# status of individual passengers on the Titanic.  The titanic3 data
# frame does not contain information for the crew, but it does contain
# actual and estimated ages for almost 80% of the passengers.
#
# SOURCES: Hind, Philip.  "Encyclopedia Titanica."  Online.  Internet.
# n.p.  02 Aug 1999.  Avaliable http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/phind
#
# VARIABLE DESCRIPTIONS:
# pclass          Passenger Class
#                 (1 = 1st; 2 = 2nd; 3 = 3rd)
# survival        Survival
#                 (0 = No; 1 = Yes)
# name            Name
# sex             Sex
# age             Age
# sibsp           Number of Siblings/Spouses Aboard
# parch           Number of Parents/Children Aboard
# ticket          Ticket Number
# fare            Passenger Fare
# cabin           Cabin
# embarked        Port of Embarkation
#                 (C = Cherbourg; Q = Queenstown; S = Southampton)
# boat            Lifeboat
# body            Body Identification Number
# home.dest       Home/Destination
#
# SPECIAL NOTES:
# Pclass is a proxy for socio-economic status (SES)
#  1st ~ Upper; 2nd ~ Middle; 3rd ~ Lower
#
# Age is in Years; Fractional if Age less than One (1)
#  If the Age is Estimated, it is in the form xx.5
#
# Fare is in Pre-1970 British Pounds (p)
#  Conversion Factors:  1p = 12s = 240d and 1s = 20d
#
# With respect to the family relation variables (i.e. sibsp and parch)
# some relations were ignored.  The following are the definitions used
# for sibsp and parch.
#
# Sibling:  Brother, Sister, Stepbrother, or Stepsister of Passenger Aboard Titanic
# Spouse:   Husband or Wife of Passenger Aboard Titanic (Mistresses and Fiancées Ignored)
# Parent:   Mother or Father of Passenger Aboard Titanic
# Child:    Son, Daughter, Stepson, or Stepdaughter of Passenger Aboard Titanic
#
# Other family relatives excluded from this study include cousins,
# nephews/nieces, aunts/uncles, and in-laws.  Some children travelled
# only with a nanny, therefore parch=0 for them.  As well, some
# travelled with very close friends or neighbors in a village, however,
# the definitions do not support such relations.
#
# STORY BEHIND THE DATA:
# This dataset is based on the Titanic Passenger List edited by Michael
# A. Findlay, originally published in Eaton & Haas (1994) Titanic:
# Triumph and Tragedy, Patrick Stephens Ltd, and expanded with the help
# of the internet community.  The original HTML files were obtained by
# Philip Hind (1999).
#
# PEDAGOGICAL NOTES:
# This dataset is ideal for teaching basic functions in S-PLUS in the
# realm of Statistical Computing and Graphics.  It can also prove useful
# in teaching binary logistic regression and methods of imputation, both
# single and multiple.  The dataset is also useful for demonstrating
# many of the functions available in Frank Harrell's Hmisc library as
# well as demonstrating binary logistic regression analysis using the
# Design library.
#
# An interesting result may be obtained using functions from the Hmisc
# library in S-PLUS
#
# attach(titanic3)
# plsmo(age, survived, group=sex, datadensity=T)         # OR group=pclass
# plot(naclus(titanic3))                                 # study patterns of missing values
# summary(survived ~ age + sex + pclass, data=titanic3)
#
# REFERENCES:
# Harrell FE.  "Predicting Outcomes: Applied Survival Analysis and
# Logistic Regression."  Book manuscript available from the University
# of Virginia Bookstore, 1999.
#
# SUBMITTED BY:
# Thomas E. Cason, Undergraduate Research Assistant
# Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology
# Department of Health Evaluation Sciences
# University of Virginia School of Medicine
# Box 600, Charlottesville, VA 22908 USA
# Electronic Mail:  tcason@virginia.edu
#
# ----------------------------------------------------------------------
# FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DATASET
#
# 1. For those over age 25 the mean # spouses/siblings is about .34 -
#    seems a little low
#
# The only explanation I can offer (without a deep search) is the
# overwhelming "Third Class Bias" as I call it.  Many third class
# passengers travelled alone... or some with friends... which is
# not under the umbrella of the sibsp definition.  Also, many 3rd
# classers were immigrating to the US... they were married... but
# were sent off alone to establish a "foothole" and then later sent
# for their spouses... if they survived... most did not.
#
# 2. For those under age 14 the mean # parents/children is 1.37 -
#    seems a bit low
#
# Again... not all children travelled with their parents...
# especially in 3rd class.  Some children travelled with older
# siblings... nannies... aunts/uncles... etc.  Actually, more often
# than not... children travelled with only one parent.
#
# -TEC
#
#
# After further investigation... I found my initial instincts regarding
# the low means to be correct.  There's not much else to say about it...
# but I'll cite some unusual passenger cases that may come up in the
# future regarding this issue.
#
# Case #1:  Emanuel, Miss. Virginia Ethel... 3d Class... Age 5...
# sibsp/parch=0/0
# Boarded with her nurse Miss. Elizabeth Dowdell... escorted her to
# grandparents' home in New York, NY.
#
# Case #2:  Hassan, Mr. Houssein G N... 3d Class... Age 11...
# s/p=0/0
# Traveled with family friend Mr. Nassef Cassem Albimona... going
# to visit his parents in American from Lebanon.  (Interesting
# Note:  Albimona was from Fredericksburg, VA)
#
# Case #3:  Ayoub, Miss. Banoura... 3d Class... Age 13... s/p=0/0
# Boarded with 5 cousins... travelling to Detroit, MI to be
# reunited with family.
#
# Case #4:  Nasser, Mrs. Nicholas Nasser... 2d Class... Age 14...
# s/p=1/0
# Married to a 32 year old man... sibsp stands for spouse rather
# than sibling... unusual at such a young age.  She lied when she
# boarded the Titanic and claimed she was 18... however, her birth
# certificate proves that on April 15, 1912 she was 14... not 18!
#
# I hope this provides some insight to a few uncommon instances
# where the definitions do not encompass the actual travel status
# of a passenger.
#
# There were only one or two instances of family members
# "crossing pclass lines"... and they were included and counted for
# in sibsp and parch.
#
# -TEC