HONC 390/BUS 499-01 Research Guide (Nguyen and Wachtel)

The earliest data on data.census.gov will be from the 2000 Census. American Community Survey (ACS) Data will not be available prior to 2010 with the exception of the 2009 Comparison Profiles. All ACS data, including 2005 to 2009 data, are available in the Census Data API.

For detailed information about the new platform see this guide.

An online (no software installation needed) U.S. national data and mapping tool and analytics platform with multidisciplinary applications for college students and faculty. It is used in undergraduate and graduate curriculum and research related to social sciences, urban studies, real estate and housing analysis, community and economic development, public administration, public health, policy and political science, education, business, economics, statistics, and geography, among others. Users can leverage thousands of U.S. data indicators in PolicyMap to perform demographic and socioeconomic analysis, from a neighborhood census block group in many cases, up to a national level, as well as create custom regions, for their research and studies.

PolicyMap’s data indicators accessible via easy to use menus organized in categories including demographics, income and spending, housing, lending, quality of life, economy, education, health, federal guidelines, and analytics. Data can be viewed on a census block or census tract level in many cases, city, county, zip, state, US, as well as by congressional district, school district, state house and state senate districts.

In addition to its comprehensive data resources, Social Explorer offers features and tools to meet the needs of demography experts and novices alike. From research libraries to classrooms to government agencies to corporations to the front page of the New York Times, Social Explorer helps the public engage with society and science.

DATA RESOURCES
Access current and historical demographic data with ease:
The entire US Census from 1790 to 2010.
The entire American Community Survey (ACS) from 2005 to 2012.
All annual updates from the American Community Survey.
InfoGroup data on religious congregations in the United States for 2009 and 2010, including maps for counties and special census areas, as well as point maps of the actual congregation locations.
The Religious Congregations and Membership Study (RCMS) from 1980 to 2010.
Carbon Emissions Data for 2002 from the Vulcan Project.
Social Explorer includes over 40 billion data elements, 500,000 variables, and more than 25,000 interactive maps.
Stay current with the latest data from the US Census Bureau, which is added to the site as soon as it is released.
Browse full source documentation for all reports and maps, as well as the source and computation information for every variable.

TOOLS & FEATURES
Visualize data with customizable, user-friendly maps, allowing unparalleled exploration of demographic and social change, revealing the patterns buried in raw numbers.
Create thematic and interactive maps that explore all historical and modern US census data across the centuries and even down to street level detail (where available).
Locate geographies with the address find tool.
Export, save, and print maps and reports for professional-looking reports, presentations, and graphics. High-resolution images are available and any presentation can be exported directly to PowerPoint.
Create multi-map presentations with the interactive slideshow tool for in-depth comparisons and story-telling.
Graph and chart data with easy on-screen tools to investigate the data and communicate your findings.
Save projects in your personal MyExplorer account for archiving, collaboration, and more.
Share your creations in presentations and online. Maps can be shared through email, Facebook, and Twitter, and embedded in websites.
Create data reports at all geographic levels, including state, county, census tract, block group, zip code, and census place (where the data exist).
Download data to a variety of file formats for use with your favorite statistical package. Our reports automatically calculate aggregates, percentages, inflation adjustments, and medians to save time and eliminate errors.
No software to install or maintain, making it hassle-free for librarians and users. The site works entirely on the web and provides many basic GIS and data manipulation functions.
An ideal teaching resource that employs an engaging visual approach to demographic information for courses across the social sciences, and trusted by Pearson Publishing as a leader in social science online learning.

On-Campus Link

Data Axle Reference Solutions is compiled from over 5,000 Yellow page directories, Business White Pages, Corporate Annual Reports, SEC 10K reports, Chamber of Commerce Directories, state directories, and other public information sources. It is searchable by Yellow Page heading, Industry group, SIC code, city or geographic area, employee size, sales volume, and consumer name.

Data Axle Reference Solutions also allows you to create heat maps of your business list based on many of the criteria listed above.

On Campus Link

Sources include a variety of current and retrospective news media: newspapers, newswires, broadcast transcripts, blogs, periodicals, and web-only content.

Also included are the following Access Modules: Business News, U.S. Newswires, Military, Government, and Defense, and Acceda Noticias. Content is easily searched and sorted through an intuitive, map-based interface.

Access World News includes many California News Sources including the current San Francisco Chronicle.

On Campus Link

See our RefWorks Guide for information about creating accounts, using add-ons, and accessing user guides.