Definition Motion component

Motion components describe the nature of progress of data collected in a time series (longitudinal data). They provide information and describe whether data follows a certain pattern over a period of time. The seasonal component is a typical motion component: data movements during certain periods have been well recorded – an obvious example of the seasonal component is falling unemployment during spring. Due to better weather, and as a result, better working conditions, more people find jobs in construction and agriculture.

See also the keyword time series analysis. The main motion components are:

• trend component
• seasonal component
• cyclical component
• residual component

Please note that the definitions in our statistics encyclopedia are simplified explanations of terms. Our goal is to make the definitions accessible for a broad audience; thus it is possible that some definitions do not adhere entirely to scientific standards.