Social Science Students: Making Census Data Work for You

Using census data in the social science classroom: making census data work for you

Celia Emmelhainz

Social Sciences Data Librarian

11 August 2014

Goals of this Training

At the end of today’s talk, you should:• know the strengths and weaknesses of census data

• be able to find and prepare data for basic analysis

• be able to use census resources to test a hypothesis

Focus On: Social Science Data

DATA?What is

o Numbers

o Quoteso Texto GPS

Pointso Materials

Data StatisticsValues for separate observations

Aggregate information

Source: US Census Bureau, 2005 PUMS data sample; PUMS estimates

What isthe U.S. Census?

Count: Every 10 Years

Qualities: Every 1 Year

Other Census Resources

• Current Population Survey (CPS)

• Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)

• Economic Census

What areas does the census cover?

Census Hierarchy• Region• Division• State• Urban/Metro Area

• County• Census Tract• Census Blocks

Northeast



New England



Maine



Portland MSA

Census Hierarchy• Region• Division• State• Urban /Metro Area


Kennebec



CS 242



1013

Census Explorer• Region• Division

• State• Urban /Metro Area


What should I know about the Census?

Decennial (10-year) Census

Strengths• Provides reliable count of all people• Greater reliability at fine-grained levels• Lower sampling error

Cautions• Not fresh; may be ten years out of date• Limited data: age, sex, race/ethnicity,

relationship, home ownership/vacancy

American Community Survey Strengths• Data is fresh each year, and shared on a

rolling basis (2008-2012, 2009-2013)• Detailed data on social roles, economic

status, house structure and sharing

Cautions• Not an accurate count; made to measure

changing trends, not precise numbers• Local data may have large margin of error

Limitations: Return Rates

What’s Wrong with this Picture?

Source: US Census Bureau, 1-year ACS, data Profile for Table B16010

Limitations: Margin of Error

Adjusting Sample Size

How do I pick a hypothesis?

1. Required subject matter

2. Browsing data records

Source: US Census Atlas 2000, p. 113

Source: 2011 Language Mapper, US Census Bureau, 2007-2011 ACS, Table B16001

Unit of Analysis?

Person?

Household?

Business?

Variable?

Person?

Household?

Business?

Language

Num.

Vehicles

Owner’s

Race

Place: Maine

Unit: Person

Variable: Language

Value: French

So we’ve got:

Geographic Comparison (place)“Is the level of French spoken at home different in Maine vs. Louisiana?”

Correlation (relationship) “Is the language spoken at home related to year of migration?”

Longitudinal (over time)“How have the rates of language spoken at home changed over time?”

Type of Study

Building a Hypothesis

• H0 = The frequency of French spoken at home in Maine has not changed over time.

• H1 = The frequency of French spoken at home in Maine has changed over time.

So how do I get my information?

factfinder2.census.gov

PUMS (Public Use Microdata)• Areas of 100,000 people or more• Available at www2.census.gov as raw

data for use with statistical software

Tables & Comparison Profiles• Pre-tabulated and available for quick

analysis• Better for beginners or background data

factfinder2.census.gov

1. Guided Search

2. Advanced Search

Locating Data

Product Types

Subject Tables in Excel

Detailed Tables

Selecting Data

Downloading Data

Preparing Data

Time: Comparison Profile

Finding an answer

What if the Census doesn’t have my data?

World Bank: http://data.worldbank.org/

OECD: http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/

UN Data: http://data.un.org/

Public Access Datasets

http://data.worldbank.org/

http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/

http://data.un.org/

• ICPSR in Michigan/America• ODESI in Canada• UK Data Service in Britain

Limited Access Datasets

Browsing FedStatsFedStats.gov --> Topics --> Education --> Postsecondary for NCES statistics

Questions?Comments?

For more information:Celia EmmelhainzSocial Sciences Data [email protected]

Selected Sources• U.S. Census Bureau (http://www.census.gov)• U.S. Census Bureau, Compass Guides for Data Users, 2009. • ISR Social Science Data Archive (http://

www.sscnet.ucla.edu/issr/da/tutor/tutdata.htm)• Tables and Products in American FactFinder (http://

factfinder2.census.gov/help/en/tables_and_products.htm) • Moore, S (2010). Census Data Access: Finding the Most Current

and Relevant Data. Chicago Regional Office, US Census Bureau.• Drozd, D (2012). Census Data Basics. Nebraska Library

Commission Webinar.• Steeleworthy, M (2013). Data Sources for Economic Research,

Wilfrid Laurier University, on slideshare.• Osborne, Z (2010). Significant Sources of Social Science Data.

Ryerson University Libraries and Archives, on slideshare.

http://www.census.gov/

http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/issr/da/tutor/tutdata.htm



http://factfinder2.census.gov/help/en/tables_and_products.htm

http://factfinder2.census.gov/help/en/tables_and_products.htm

Data & Analytics

Social Science Students: Making Census Data Work for You