SEAN LAHMAN – SLAHMAN@GANNETT.COMSEAN LAHMAN – SLAHMAN@GANNETT.COMROCHESTER DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLEROCHESTER DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE

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Digging into Census DataDigging into Census Data to Find Good Stories to Find Good Stories

Digging for Stories

Computer Assisted Reporting

“Journalists need to be data-savvy. It used to be that you would get stories by chatting to people in bars, and it still might be that you'll do it that way some times.

But now it's also going to be about poring over data and equipping yourself with the tools to analyse it and picking out what's interesting.”

London, November 2010

“Journalists need to be data-savvy. It used to be that you would get stories by chatting to people in bars, and it still might be that you'll do it that way some times.

But now it's also going to be about poring over data and equipping yourself with the tools to analyse it and picking out what's interesting.”

London, November 2010

Tim Berners-LeeInventor of the World Wide Web

Overview of the U.S. Census

Since 1790

Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States

which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers…

10 Questions in 10 Minutes

•How many people live

here?

•Age, gender, race of

each

•Home ownership?

Data Release Schedule

Dec 2010 Totals for all states

February & March - Redistricting data for

each state

May – Demographic profiles

June-August – Summary File 1

Late 2011 / early 2012 – Summary File 2

The End…

Shortest. Census. Form. Ever.

The more questions

the Census Bureau

asked, the fewer

responses they

received.

American Community Survey

•Samples roughly 3 million people per year

•1-year, 3-year, and5-year data released

•65,000 & 20,000 population sizes

“Census data” is really many data sets

Decennial CensusAmerican Community SurveySmall Area Income and Poverty EstimatesAmerican Housing SurveyConsumer Expenditure SurveyPublic Use Microdata SamplesSurvey of Construction… and more

Levels of Complexity

Age

Gender

Race

Location

Geographical Groupings

Census Tracts

1790 Map

Getting the Data

http://www2.census.gov/census_2010/

American Fact Finder

AFF2

AFF3

AFF4

AFF5

AFF - new

AFF-new1

AFF-new2

AFF-new3

DataFerrett

http://thedataweb.org/ or http://dataferrett.census.gov

DF1

IRE

Other Resources

New York State Data Centerhttp://esd.ny.gov/

Lewis Mumford Center - University of Albany http://www.albany.edu/mumford/

University of Virginia http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/

NYC Department of City Planninghttp://gis.nyc.gov/dcp/pa/address.jsp

University of Michiganhttp://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/

University of Minnesota (PUMS)http://usa.ipums.org/usa/

Finding Story Ideas

"People don't really tell you

this, but often the amount

of time you spend finding a

decent story is more than

the time it takes to produce

the story.“

-- Ira Glass

"People don't really tell you

this, but often the amount

of time you spend finding a

decent story is more than

the time it takes to produce

the story.“

-- Ira Glass

Civics for Journalists

Who is your audience?

Context

Need reliable numbers other than the

Census Bureau

Redistricting

Redistricting is an intensely political process

There is a vocabulary to redistricting

Section 5

Gerrymandering

Huge opportunity to share historical info with

readers

Communities of Interest

Population

Urban sprawl, neighborhood decay, suburban

flight

Population density maps

Growth/decline of population in

neighborhoods

Average household size (changes,

comparisons between neighborhoods)

Age and Gender

(More detailed age breakdowns available in

May)

Graying or seeing a baby boom?

Concentrations of older residents vs. children

Gender differences in neighborhoods

Generational conflicts (mixing of generations)

Race and Ethnicity

(Top level race data in first release, more detail in summer release)

Look at race breakdowns by age (growth of minority population tends to be bottom up)

Surge in Hispanic population is a national story (14 to 35 million from 1980-2000)

Segregation & diversity (see the Mumford Center at SUNY Albany, or USAT diversity index)

Relationships

Types of households (available in may)

Seniors living alone

Grandchildren living in household

Consider mapping same-sex couples, single

mothers

Housing

Vacant housing units: what is the trend, and

where?

Owner-occupied vs. rentals

How many people own their homes free and

clear? Where are they?

Foreclosures… where and how many?

Other Ideas

Redistricting on the local level

Compare racial composition of school

population with citizens 18+ (voters)

New ACS variables: healthcare coverage,

degree field, Veterans’ disability, marital history

Housing double-up as an indicator of economic

impact

New York Ideas

Look at the extent to which the recession, mortgage meltdown slowed the migration away from NY.  

NY an example of state that is aging, but also seeing a decline in child population (<18) 2000-10

Also look at: % Children w/immigrant parents, children speaking other than English, HS dropout rates for 1st generation vs. 2nd generation Hispanics

To what extent does # of seats impact fed $ compared to seniority of your reps (and which committees they are on)

Demographic Resources

Our Patchwork Nation – Dante Chinni

Identified clusters based on income, education,

population growth, unemployment, foreclosure

rates, Starbucks vs. Wal-Mart

Who We Are Now – Sam Roberts

The Big Sort – Bill Bishop

A Field Guide to Sprawl – Dolores Hayden

American Community Survey

American Community Survey

American Community Survey

American Community Survey

American Community Survey

Data Visualization

Shan CarterData Visualization

“The last thing the internet needs is more data.” Shan Carter, Interactive Graphics

EditorThe New York Times

Data Visualization as a new medium

Protovis-1

Protovis-2

Science Fair Poster

Science Fair Poster 2

Martini Glass

Data Slide Show

Drill Down Story

Another Drill Down

Not Just for End Users

Demographic Explosion

Crime data

Campaign finance

Voter registration

Public payrolls

Student test scores

Netflix

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/01/10/nyregion/20100110-netflix-map.html

Mapping Tools

Adobe Flash

Google Maps API

MAPublisher

GEOCommons

Social Explorer

Census Bureau – Thematic and Reference

Maps

Adobe Flash

Des Moines RegisterJames Wilkerson

http://data.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/iowa-census/redistricting-map/

MAPublisher with Illustrator

Tampa TribuneKevin Wiatrowski

http://www2.tbo.com/static/maps/tbocom-special-report-data-maps-map-builder/

Google Maps API

GeoCommons

Social Explorer

http://SocialExplorer.com

Census Bureau – Maps Tool

Digging for Stories

Questions

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