After using the Create TOPS interface, the user can move on to utilize other interfaces in the Sample Adequacy tab. The Adjust TOPS icon () directly follows the Create TOPS icon on the menu ribbon. This interface is used to find small segments where TOPS data items do not align at exact measures and merge them. In order to accomplish this goal, the interface possesses three action tabs:

Summary Tab

The Summary tab is used to identify small segments, with a maximum length specified by the user, where TOPS data items do not align at exact measures and merge them. 

Steps

To find the small segments, users can follow these steps: 

1. Select an option in the "Data to Adjust" bubble selection area. Select “Statewide” to locate small segments in the full TOPS data set or “Parish” to locate small segments in a subset of data based on the selected Parish in the picklist.
2. Set the data item precedence by selecting the order for obtaining attribute values in the "Parent TOPS Data Item Precedence" list. This will determine how small segments will be merged into adjacent segments. To change the order, click the desired data item and use the up or down arrows.
3. Enter a maximum segment length, or measure tolerance, in the “Measure Tolerance” text box. The measure tolerance can be in units of feet or miles which is selected in the picklist.
4. After giving the desired options a value, click the “View TOPS Changes” button.

Results

After running the changes, the “TOPS Changes Summary” section of the interface will display the overall number of required sample changes from the original TOPS data and the modified TOPS data based on the length. There are three view-only textboxes and a table in this portion. The “Total Samples Required Before Changes” textbox shows the original, overall number of samples. The “Total Samples Required After Changes” textbox shows the overall number of samples that would need to be reported if the small segments were merged. The “Difference in Samples Required” textbox shows the numerical difference in the original and modified TOPS data. The “Stratums with Required Sample Changes” table below the textboxes breaks down this difference value and shows which stratums would be affected by the changes. These numbers can appear negative, indicating less required samples, or positive, indicating the stratum grew to require more samples.

Detail Tab

The Details Tab is used to compare the number of TOPS locations and required samples from the original TOPS set against the modified TOPS set per Functional System, Urban Code, and Volume Group stratum.

Rows

When the rows of the table are collapsed ( caret), they will only show general information about the Functional Systems and their changes. In this state, the rows will simply state "[#] Urban Areas with changes to Number of TOPS/Required Samples" across from the associated Functional System title. However, the rows can expand to reveal the specific Urban Area entries and their changes if the user clicks the caret.

In the expanded state, the first row of numbers in the Urban Area entry contains the original TOPS set, and the second rows contains the modified TOPS set. If a number is shown in blue in the second row, this indicates that a change has occurred in the number of TOPS locations. If a number is shown in purple, this indicates that a change has occurred in the number of samples required per volume group. 

Changes Tab

The Changes tab is used to identify where the five TOPS data items do not align at exact measures and what their new values will be if the modified data set is saved.

Table

The table contains the TOPS data item, Route ID, adjusted measures (from/to), original measures (from/to), old value, and adjusted value columns. The modified measures will appear in bold in either the “Adjust From Measure” or “Adjust To Measure” column depending on which measure needs to be updated.

Saving Adjust TOPS

The modified data set can be saved on any of the three tabs (Summary, Detail, or Changes). In order to save the updated data, the user must select the "Update TOPS" button at the base of the interface. This selection will update the data in the samples/TOPS tables and the selected data table. The user can also commit the modified data to the original source by selecting the "Save to Source" checkbox before clicking "Update TOPS."