Creating a Slideshow

We then clicked on a blank space in the slideshow bar to add that view of the map to the slideshow, then changed the year to the 1990 census tract. We added this view to the slideshow as well, and repeated this for the 1980 and 1970 censuses.

Making a Report

Here we are making a report from the 1970 map. We clicked the “Report” button at the top of the map, then chose Industry as the subject for our report.

We chose to select an area by placing points. We clicked to place points in the census tracts we were interested in.

We then clicked “Make Report.” Here is the report that resulted.

The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual survey designed to replace the long-form census.

The long-form census is sent out to some households during the census every ten years, and contains more detailed questions than the short-form census.

The ACS will be taken every year, to provide more consistant ongoing information and to allow the census to focus on counting the population. It will be used to help develop programs and services for communites. Information for smaller communities will need to be averaged over 3-5 years to provide more accurate and reliable data

For the Decennial Censuses, the Census Bureau has for many years conducted effectively two surveys, one 100% survey, in which every single person in the country is supposed to be accounted for, and one sample survey which is done for a random selection of households. For Census 2000 the sample survey was done for 1 in every 6 households.

One of the reasons the Census Bureau has done this is because the sample survey has many more questions than the 100% count, and it would simply be too expensive to do it for every household and is mostly unnecessary, because the sample in the sample survey is so large the numbers are very close to the 100% count anyway. The sample survey however contains a much more detailed profile of US than the 100% survey which only asks several questions such as sex, age, race.

These “surveys” are then processed into summary counts or files.

Census 2000

For Census 2000, the Census Bureau has produced four Summary Files (SF). The first two (SF 1/2) are based on the 100% sample and the later two are based on the sample survey (SF 3/4).

So technically speaking, if the data you are looking for is located in the first two summary files (SF1/2), you should use those numbers, because they are more “accurate”, otherwise you have to use SF 3/4.

What is in SF2/4?

Most people have never used these two Summary Files (SF) because they are somewhat more complicated.  They basically contain the same data tables as SF1/3 respectively, but the tables are iterated for 336 race and ancestry categories. For example, if you are interested in Household Income for Japanese people, you would use SF 4. SF 2/4 provide data down to Census Tract level.

Census 1990

For Census 1990 the Census Bureau has produced four Summary Tape Files (STF). They are equivalent to the Summary Files in Census 2000.  Summary Tape File 1/2 (STF 1/2) contains 100% data on age, race, sex, marital status, Hispanic origin, household type and relationship, occupancy/vacancy status, tenure, units in structure, contract rent, meals included in rent, value, and number of rooms. Summary Tape File 3/4 (STF 3/4) contains sample data weighted to represent total population. Again as in Census 2000, STF 2/4 data tables are iterated by detailed race and ancestry categories.

Census geography is organized on a number of different levels. Some of the levels fit completely within one another, while others may cross the boundary of a larger level.

The basic hierarchical organization of census geography is Nation > States > Counties > County Sub-Divisions > Census Tracts > Block Groups > Blocks, with each level nested completely within its predecessor.

These levels cover all areas in the United States, and added up, their populations equal the entire population of the United States. Other levels, such as places, can cross the boundaries of other levels, and some, such as ZIP codes, do not cover all areas of the United States. ZIP codes only cover those where mail is delivered.

The diagram above shows the relationships between different levels of census geographies. A line between two levels represents a hierarchical relationship between them, meaning that the larger, generally displayed near the top of the diagram, can be subdivided into the smaller level.

Image from http://www.census.gov/geo/www/geodiagram.pdf

A Snapshot of the Nation

The official U.S. Census is described in Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution of the United States. It calls for an actual enumeration of the people every ten years, to be used for apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives among the states. The first official Census was conducted in 1790 under Thomas Jefferson, who was the Secretary of State. That census, taken by U.S. marshals on horseback, counted 3.9 million inhabitants. Since that time, the decennial Census has been conducted every ten years, generally on April 1 in years ending in a zero.

– The Census Bureau

Besides providing information needed for congressional and state legislative redistricting and distribution of funds for government programs, Census data are used in many other ways. Census data are used extensively in marketing applications, supplementing smaller surveys, cooking up estimate and projection numbers, helping scholarly researchers learn more about residents and neighborhoods and many other uses. Census data are available for many levels of geography, including states, counties, cities and towns, ZIP codes, census tracts (neighborhoods) and blocks.  In Census 2000, there are a total of 114 geographic levels, and about 2.4 million potential variables down to Census Tract level. Given the vast amount and coverage of these data, it is easy to get lost in all these datasets.

About

This is the main page for Social Explorer. The blue bar at the top lets you navigate to different sections of the site.

Hint: Click on images to enlarge.

The blue bar contains buttons that take you to the different sections. The “Home” tab takes you to the main page, shown above.

The “Maps” tab takes you to the main maps page, where you can select the data sets to view maps from, and then browse the maps.

The “Reports” tab takes you to the main reports page, where you can select the census year to create reports from, and then view and download data.

The “Blog” tab takes you to the Social Explorer blog, with news and information about Social Explorer.

The “Help” tab takes you to the help system, where you are now.

The “Contact” tab takes you to contact information for Social Explorer.

Sections

The two main parts of Social Explorer are maps and reports.

Maps

The maps section of Social Explorer allows you to visualize thousands of variables of data.

Social Explorer maps present census data in a clear, visually comprehensible manner. Maps can be made on a variety of subjects with data from several censuses. Maps can then be used to make reports or slideshows, which can be exported to other programs.

To open the map application, click on the “Maps” tab on the blue bar at the top of the home screen, then select the group of censuses you would like to use.

Below is an overview of the tools available in the map application.

1. Map title - shows what map is currently visible or the title of your slideshow
2. File menu - links to various tools
3. Previous or Next Map - allows you to navigate between maps
4. Initial View - returns you to the default map
5. Print - allows you to print your map
6. Find - allows you to search for a certain area or address
7. Navigational Tools - allows you to zoom in, zoom out, or pan
8. Report - creates a report with a table of the chosen data in the selected area
9. Legend Menus - allow you to chose a census to report the data from, what kind of data is being shown, and how to show that data
10. Slideshow - allows you to create a slideshow of different maps
11. Legend - shows what kind of data is being shown and how it is represented on the map
12. Slideshow Controls - plays back the slideshow

Reports

Social Explorer allows you to create reports comparing a variety of subjects in multiple areas and download data for further processing.

The amount of data you have access to varies with your subscription level.

To open the Reports application, click on the “Reports” tab on the blue bar, then select the group of censuses you would like to use.

You will be taken to a page where you can begin to create your report. Learn more here.

FAQ

1. How do I view/browse maps?
   Select the maps tab from the blue bar at the top of the main page, then select the set of data you would like to use. Learn more here.
2. What data is available?
   For a list of available maps and data, please click here.
3. How do I look up statistics for a place?
   Data for places, such as towns or cities, can be found on the Census Places geography level. You must be a subscriber to use this feature.
4. How do I download data?
   After creating a report, choose the “download data” tab. Learn more here.
5. How do I print a map?
   Push the print button, or select “Print” from the file menu. Learn more here.
6. How do I download a map as an image?
   Press the print button or select “Print” from the file menu, then right-click on the image and choose “Save.” Learn more here.

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Saving

You must have an account and be logged in to save a map.

To save, go to the file menu and choose Save or Save As, if your map is not already named.

Opening

To open a previously saved map, go to the file menu and choose “Open.” Select the map you wish to open from the menu that appears. You can also open other people’s maps that are saved publicly.

Sharing

To share a map, check the box that says “allow everyone to view this project” when saving. To share a map after saving it, choose “Sharing…” from the file menu and check the box in the window that appears.

Here is an example of creating a report. First we choose the census year to use from the main reports page. We are using the 1930 census.

Then we select the geographies. We chose to select the geographies from the list. We selected “State” for geographic type, then selected Arizona and clicked “Add.”

We then went back and chose “County” for the geographic type. We chose Arizona for the state again, selected three counties by clicking and dragging, and pressed “Add.” We then pressed “Next.”

Alternately, we could have chosen to enter the geographies with FIPS codes. In that case, we would have pressed the “FIPS Codes” tab at the top of the page.

Then we selected the geographic type “State,” entered “04″ for Arizona.

Then we pressed “Add.”

We then went back, selected “County” for the geography type, and entered “04001,” “04003,” and “04005,” for Apache, Cochise, and Coconino counties. Note that the county codes are all preceded by 04, the state code.

We then pressed “Next.”

We were taken to the page where you select the subject of the report. We chose to use a report of pre-selected tables. We chose Age and pressed “Add,” then went back and chose Literacy too. Then we pressed “Show Result.”

This is the report that was created.

When you have created your report, you can download the data in CSV format, which can then be opened in Microsoft Excel and other programs, or choose to download straight to Excel.

To use the CSV format, start by clicking the “Download Data” tab from the results page, circled below.

Then click on the blue link under “Download data by geography type.”

A box will come up, asking what to do with the file. Choose the program you want to open the files in and press “OK.”

Your data will appear in the program you selected.

To download straight to Microsoft Excel, choose the “Excel” tab from the results page.

Select the version of Excel you would like to download to from the bottom of the screen.

Social Explorer allows you to create reports comparing a variety of subjects in multiple areas and download data for further processing.

To open the Reports application, click on the “Reports” tab on the blue bar, then select the census year you would like to use. You will be taken to a page where you can begin to create your report.

Creating a Report

After you select a census year, creating a report is divided into three steps: selecting geographies, selecting tables and results. The steps are outlined on the “You are Here” bar at the top of each page. You can always go back to previous steps and change your selections by clicking on the appropriate step in the “You are Here” bar.

Selecting Geographies

The first step in creating a report is selecting the geographies you would like to get data for. You can select the geographies either from a list or by entering the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) codes. FIPS codes provide unique identifications of each geography and can be strung together to form a unique ID for every geography on all geographic levels (with a few minor exceptions in 2000 where the census id is used instead). For example, each state has a unique FIPS code, and each county within each state has a unique code (they may repeat between states though). Putting them together, a state FIPS code (2 digits) followed by a county FIPS code (3 digits), creates a unique identifier such as ‘36047‘ for Kings county in New York State. This is often the preferred method used by professionals to identify geographies.

Creating a Slideshow

With the slideshow tool, you can easily create slideshows of different maps. Just click in the blank spaces in the slideshow bar, and the current view of the map will be added to the slideshow. After putting your view of the map in the slideshow, you can change the view by zooming, panning, or changing the year or subject in the legend, and then add the new view to the slideshow by clicking the next blank space. You can then play it or export it to PowerPoint.

The box in the lower right-hand corner of the window contains the controls for the slideshow.

Playing a Slideshow

The box in the lower right-hand corner of the window contains the controls for the slideshow.

1. These buttons allow you to pause, play, rewind, and fast foward the slideshow
2. This allows you to control how the slideshow plays. If the man is standing still, then the slides flip through one at a time. If the man is running, then the slides fade in and out.
3. This lets you put the slideshow on repeat.
4. This controls the speed of the slideshow.

Saving a Slideshow

You must have an account and be logged in to save your slideshow. If you are logged in, go to the file menu and choose Save or Save As to save.

A box will open where you can enter the title of your slideshow and choose whether to save it publicly or privately.

Sharing a Slideshow

To share a slideshow, check the box that says “allow everyone to view this project” when saving. To share a slideshow after saving it, choose “Sharing…” from the file menu and check the box in the window that appears.

Opening a Slideshow

Make sure that you are signed in. From the file menu, choose “Open.” A box will appear with a list of all your saved slideshows. To open one of your saved slideshows, select it from the list. To open a publicly save slideshow, choose the yellow “All Public” tab, and select a slideshow from that list.

Exporting a Slideshow to PowerPoint

To export to PowerPoint, after creating a slideshow, choose “Export to PowerPoint” from the file menu.

You will be asked to title your slideshow. Enter your title into the space and press “OK.”

A new window will open, asking you what to do with this file. Choose to open with PowerPoint and press “OK,” and PowerPoint will automatically open with your slideshow.

Once in PowerPoint, you can set up the transitions for your slideshow. Go to “Slide Show” on the menu bar in PowerPoint, and choose “Slide Transition” (Step 1 in the diagram below). A bar will appear on the right-hand side of the window, where you can choose the type of transition and whether the slide will transition manually or automatically (Step 2 below). Choose “Apply to All Slides” (Step 3 below) to set it for the entire slideshow.

Learn how to export a map as an image file here.

With Social Explorer, it’s easy to turn your demographic map into a data table. After you have made your map, just press “Report” on the toolbar above the map.

Note: Your report will contain the data for the geographies with black outlines on the maps. So, for example, even though data for the counties appears in colors on the map below, the report for this map would list data for the states because only the state outlines are visible.

Step 1

In the box that appears, select a report you wish to generate. There are several reports to choose from (usually 10 to 15) that cover most data users are interested in. Once your report is made, you may change census table selections to add any additional data you may be interested in. You may also modify the geography selections. For more info on this click here.

Step 2

Choose how you would like to select the area. You can either draw a circle around the desired area, or place points on the map. The circle tool will include all areas touching the circle, not just those inside it. It will not cookie cut and allocate areas.

Step 3

Select the desired area by drawing a circle or placing dots in areas of interest. You can still change the view of the map while selecting areas by using the zoom and pan tools, just switch to a navigation tool and then revert back to the report tool when you have readjusted your area.

To select using a circle, click and drag until the circle encompasses the desired area, then let go.

To select using points, click in each desired area. To end selection when using points, double-click or press “Make Report” in the Report Help box to the right of the map.

If you are using the “circle” selection tool, as soon as you have selected the circle, a window will pop up containing your report and a map showing which areas you have selected.  If you are using the “points” selection tool, you must either double click to end your selection and bring up the report or click on the “Make Report” button on the helper sidebar to the right. You may also choose to click on the “Cancel Report” button to exit the report tool.

The maps section of Social Explorer allows you to visualize thousands of variables of data.

Social Explorer maps present census data in a clear, visually comprehensible manner. Maps can be made on a variety of subjects with data from several censuses. Maps can then be used to make reports or slideshows, which can be exported to other programs.

To open the map application, click on the “Maps” button on the blue bar at the top of the home screen, then select the group of censuses you would like to use.

Below is an overview of the tools available in the map application.

Navigation

Browsing

Social Explorer makes it easy to navigate maps using 3 tools: zoom-in, zoom-out and pan.

To zoom into an area, you can click on the map while the zoom tool is selected, or you can click and drag a rectagle around the desired area, as shown below.

As you zoom, smaller geographic areas will appear. For example, in the default view, information for counties will be displayed. As you zoom to a smaller area, information for census tracts and other smaller regions will appear.

To zoom out, select the zoom out tool and click on the map. To move your view of the map without changing the zoom level, select the pan tool and then click and drag.

Hint: You can hold the “space” key to pan at any time. To temporarily switch from zoom in to zoom out, hold the “Ctrl” key.

Initial View

The initial view button returns you to the default view that was first shown of the continental United States.

Understanding the Legend

Choosing a map

Select the area you want data for using the navigation tools.

Choose the census you want the data to come from, from the first menu at the top of the legend.

Then choose the subject of the data that will be shown on the map, from the second menu.

From the third menu, choose a more specific subject. You can also choose “no data map” to get a clearer view of the geography of your map.

Printing

To print, press the “print” button at the top of the map or choose “Print” from the file menu.

You will be taken to a simplified, printer-friendly version of your map and the legend.

Downloading a Map as an Image File

To export your map to an image file, press the “Print” button.

Then right-click the image of your map on the printer-friendly page and choose “Save As.”