While assembling some of my data for another self-tracking experiment, I grabbed my step tracking data and took a look at the number of daily “steps” recorded by both Moves app (RIP!) and my Basis B1 (RIP!). I whipped up the following chart:
Step Tracking Correlations
I wanted to see if there was a statistically significant relationship between daily steps reported by Moves vs. Basis, even though their values are clearly different. To do so, I analyzed the data using a free online data analysis tool called Statwing and sure enough, there was a statistically significant relationship!
Looking at the chart on the right, you will see that there is a generally linear correlation between number of steps recorded each day between Basis and Moves. For you statistics geeks, here are the correlation/regression details:
I realize there will always be outliers, such as when I’m playing a sport or exercising wearing my Basis but not being able to hold my iPhone (in which case, Moves can’t track me), device batteries dying or needing charging, etc. but the fact that I can use either tool as a way to visualize general activity trends is good to know.
The lesson learned here is that regardless of what device you are using to track your activity, over time it’s not about whether you took 8,000 vs. 10,000 steps, but rather that you increased your activity by 20%! That, to me, is the most important metric.
