OptiPath is continually under development and testing. Please use it at your own risk. It is performing well for us on a Windows 8.1 operating system. If you have any difficulties or questions, please let us know.
The documentation for the software is also continually in development and may be incomplete. Please check the documentation version number if you want to know when the documentation was last updated (the version number is simply the date).
Installing OptiPath explains how to install, update and uninstall OptiPath.
Getting Started outlines a step-by-step procedure for doing a seriation from start to finish using OptiPath.
Seriating - a quick explanation of what seriating is.
Files are the permanent repository of your data on your computer system. Normally OptiPath works with the default file, OptiPath.ops, and you need not be concerned with files (unless you want to backup your database). Instead you will be working with data sets and seriations.
Data sets are collections of archaeological artifacts or assemblages that you want to analyze. You may have as many data sets as you want and OptiPath provides facilities for adding/deleting/editing/switching data sets. There is an option to import data sets from Microsoft Excel. OptiPath stores multiple data sets in a single database file (named OptiPath.ops by default).
Tables are a standard way of presenting data in OptiPath. Be aware that any information you enter into a row of a table may not be saved or take effect until you leave that row!
Seriations are different scenarios you might create on the same data set. For example you might try seriating the same data set first using occurrence seriation and then trying shortest path seriation. OptiPath provides facilities for adding/deleting/editing/switching seriations.
Features are the attributes being used to distinguish one artifact from another.
Artifacts are the items being seriated.
Assemblages are collections of artifacts (for frequency seriation).
Data are the values or measurements of features for artifacts.
Data Types are used to indicate the type of data being used (measured, ranked or classed).
Seriate your artifacts or assemblages.
Techniques - a quick explanation of the different types of seriations that are available in OptiPath. Probably the most important thing in seriating is to choose the best technique for the data at hand.
Objectives allow the user to choose alternative ways of determing what is a best seriation, including gradualnes and unimodality.
Earliest and Latest Dates for an item allow the user to restrict the computed date of the item to a specified range.
Relations restrict certain items to precede others. Some relations are generated automatically from earliest and latest dates while others can be entered by the user.
Earlier and Later items than those in the database can significantly affect the quality of a seriation, depending upon the assumptions we make. For example, assuming a feature or style did not exist prior to the earliest of the items present can lead to a very different seriation than assuming it is not known whether the feature or style existed previously.
Distances between items are calculated based on the realization that features or styles represent dimensions in "feature space". Distances provide a numerical representation of the similarity of two artifacts.
Metrics are protocols for measuring distance between artifacts. Choosing a proper metric can be important in getting a good seriation.
Transition Penalties are used to create an ordering that minimizes the assumed disappearance and reappearance of a feature or style in the archaeolgical record.
Normalizing Data is available to work with standard deviations rather than raw data, and to assure that differing measurement units for different features or styles do not unduly influence computed distances between items.
Blanks and Zeroes allow the user to specify how blanks and zeroes in the data should be interpreted - as blanks, as zeroes, as absence of data, or simply as unknown.
Weights allow the user to put more or less emphasis on one feature or style over others.
Results are the results of seriating.
Graphs provide a visual representation of the results of a seriation.
Glossary provides a dictionary of quick definitions and explanations of technical terms used in the software and documentation.
Feedback - please let us know what you think of the OptiPath software - any bugs you find, any suggestions you have for improving the interface or the functionality. We welcome it all. Thank you.