Free tools for cleaning data and finding hotspots of undervaccination. RecordMatcher matches and merges files using identifiers like school name or ID, PlaceFinder turns addresses into coordinates, and spatiAlert maps Getis-Ord Gi* hotspots. The two HTML tools run in your browser; spatiAlert runs locally in R.
Use the tools: https://eserman13.github.io/spatialert-toolkit/
| Step | Tool | What it does | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Prepare | RecordMatcher | Matches and merges records between two or more files that don't share a clean ID | This repo (tools/RecordMatcher.html) |
| 2. Prepare | PlaceFinder | Turns addresses into latitude and longitude | This repo (tools/PlaceFinder.html) |
| 3. Analyze | spatiAlert | Detects Getis-Ord Gi* hotspots from point or area-aggregated data | Its own repo |
The first two steps get school-level vaccination data into the shape spatiAlert needs. Each tool also works on its own.
Matches records between files that don't necessarily share a clean ID, for example matching school vaccination data to one or more school address or school enrollment files using school name, then merges the data.
- Accepts:
.csv,.tsv,.txt,.xlsx,.xls,.xlsm,.ods - What each file needs: a column to match on, such as school name or ID. One column works; two usually works better. An optional grouping column (for example district or county) limits matching to records in the same group.
- Produces: a merged CSV in which every row carries its match score, how the match was decided, and whether it was reviewed, plus an optional clean-up step.
- Progress: you can save your work as a
.jsonfile and resume later.
Turns addresses into latitude and longitude.
- Accepts:
.csv,.tsv,.txt,.xlsx,.xls,.xlsm,.ods - What the file needs: address information, either as separate street, city, and state columns or as one full-address column. An optional county column checks each result against the expected county.
- How lookups work: addresses are sent to the US Census geocoder. You can also choose to try OpenStreetMap for addresses the Census geocoder can't find. Each row records where its coordinates came from.
- Produces: your file with coordinates added, plus a step for fixing addresses that failed.
- Progress: you can save your work as a
.jsonfile and resume later.
A Shiny app that detects spatial hotspots of undervaccination using the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic. It runs locally in R. For installation, data requirements, and a walkthrough, see the spatiAlert repository and its Getting Started Guide.
RecordMatcher and PlaceFinder process your files inside your browser, and your files are not uploaded to a server. For sensitive data, download the tool and run it locally rather than opening it online. One exception applies to PlaceFinder: addresses are sent to the US Census geocoder (and to OpenStreetMap, if you turn that option on) to be looked up, whether you use the online or downloaded copy.
index.html The toolkit web page
tools/
RecordMatcher.html Single-file tool; download it and open in a browser
PlaceFinder.html Single-file tool; download it and open in a browser
images/ Screenshots shown on the web page
LICENSE MIT license
README.md This file
To use a tool offline, download its HTML file from the tools/ folder (or use the Download buttons on the web page) and open it in any modern browser.
Video tutorials and sample files are planned. They will be linked from the web page when ready.
Serman EA. spatiAlert Toolkit (RecordMatcher v1.0, PlaceFinder v1.1). 2026. https://eserman13.github.io/spatialert-toolkit/
Contact Emily A. Serman, eserman@clemson.edu, or open an issue in this repository.
MIT. See LICENSE.