Questions to ask when looking at Census data

• What was being counted?
• Who was asked ("universe")?
• Who/what agency collected the data?
• When was data collected?
• Where/what geographic area does data/report cover?
• How were the questions asked (methodology)?

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American FactFinder

Available from the Census Bureau
http://factfinder.census.gov/

• Most parts of site use JavaScript.
• Data drawn from 2000 Census, 1997 Economic Census, 1990 Decennial Census (including PUMS), and American Community Survey.
• For a guide/tutorial on how to use American Fact Finder, see slide show developed by Grace York of the University of Michigan: http://www.lib.umich.edu/libhome/Documents.center/amfact/slide1.htm

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County & City Data Book

Available from the Univ of Virginia Library's Geospatial and Statistical Data Center
http://fisher.lib.Virginia.EDU/ccdb/

• 1988 and 1994 editions available. 1994 edition includes rankings.
• Geographic levels covered:

  States (220+ data items) Counties (220+ data items) Cities (incorporated cities of 5,000 or more) (175+ data items) Places (population over 2500) (30+ data items)

• Can view multiple geographic locations from the same level (multiple counties, places, etc.) in same report. Can view multiple counties from different states in same report.
• Can customize display order: alphabetically by location name, or in ascending or descending order by a specific variable.
• Must choose which variables you want to retrieve (can customize your report).
• Can view up to 75 variables in a single report.

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Historical Census Data Browser

Available from Univ of Virginia Library's Geospatial and Statistical Data Center
http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/census/

• Data presented for browsing only. Cannot extract data from this site.

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School District Data Book

Available from the Government Information Sharing Project
http://govinfo.kerr.orst.edu/sddb-stateis.html

• 6 reports available for each district:

  General characteristics Summary Detailed

  Administrative profiles Summary Detailed

  School district finances Summary Detailed

• Reports include data from selected school district, plus 2 comparison areas. Default comparison areas are the U.S. and the state the selected district is in. Can customize comparison areas by selecting other states or school districts within the same state.

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Statistical Abstract of the U.S.

Available from the Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov/prod/www/statistical-abstract-us.html

• Tables from 1995-2000 editions of Statistical Abstract are available.
• Files in PDF format. Somewhat cumbersome to use.
• Print version available at most libraries.

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U.S. Census Bureau

http://www.census.gov/

• Most data from 1990 on, but some historical tables available.
• Data presented in many different formats (text, html, PDF, spreadsheet, maps). Reports usually available in one format only.
• Site has multiple purposes:

  Providing reports & data, software for downloading, utilities for retrieving data & maps Selling Census Bureau products and publications Promoting and publicizing the Census and Census Bureau

• Good source for current data/trends (mostly at national level), international statistics.
• Useful sections for navigating site:

  Subjects Index: http://www.census.gov/main/www/subjects.html Search the Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/main/www/srchtool.html

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USA Counties

1998 edition available online from 2 sources:

1. CenStats
   http://tier2.census.gov/usac/index.html
   • 70 subject-based reports for each county. Includes same data as Gov't Information Sharing Project version (described below), but reports are more specific and include fewer variables.
   • Can only view data for one state at a time.
   • Must choose a report to retrieve at same time you choose a county. Must reselect the county each time you want to look at different report.
   • "Compare" feature allows you to look at one variable across all counties in the state.
   • Additional info about database available from http://tier2.census.gov/usac/info.html

2. Government Information Sharing Project
   http://govinfo.kerr.orst.edu/usaco-stateis.html
   • Must choose a state, then a county, then which report you want to retrieve.
   • 33 subject-based reports available for each county. Includes same data as CenStats version, just includes more variables in each report. Reports are longer than those in CensStats version.
   • Once you've chosen a county, can look at the reports for that county without having to re-select the county.
   • "Area comparison" feature allows you to look at one variable across all counties in the state. Must choose this option at the beginning, before you choose a state.

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U.S. Census Resources on the Web | Government Documents at Memorial Library |
Memorial Library Home Page | UW-Madison Libraries

Page created on 10/27/99; last updated on 4/13/01.

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