U.S. Census Bureau Web Site
The U.S. Census Bureau Web site <www.census.gov> is an essential source of demographic and economic statistics that can provide useful data for health sciences researchers.
Content
Statistics on age, education, income, housing, and occupation are provided at geographic levels from local census blocks up through the entire country. Statistics are presented in tables, reports, and thematic maps. Users may download public use microdata files for further manipulation. Dates of coverage are 1790 to the present. Data collected from the decennial Census, the Current Population Survey, the American Community Survey, the Economic Census, and other surveys are available. The Statistical Abstract of the United States, an annual compilation of U.S. statistics from many sources, rounds out the collection.
To find answers to common questions, try the links from the Bureau home page under People, Business, and Geography. If a topic is not included there, try Subjects A to Z <www.census.gov/main/www/subjects.html>.
American FactFinder
American FactFinder is an online tool for accessing key data sets from a variety of Census Bureau sources <http://factfinder.census.gov>. Links on the top left menu provide the most frequently requested information. Check the FAQs section for detailed instructions on running common searches. For more advanced users, the Data Sets link in the left menu is for searching a specific data source such as a Census subfile. Search results can be printed or saved to files in text or spreadsheet compatible formats.
Downloading Data
Much of the 1990 and 2000 Census data is available in files that can be downloaded to a computer for further statistical analysis. One statistical software option provided at no charge is DataFerret, which can be used to extract data from the census and other surveys.
Need Help Using the Web site?
• Introductory training classes on searching the U.S. Census Bureau Web site are available through HSLS upon request by contacting Barbara Folb (folb@pitt.edu).
• If you need data that is not on the Web site, consult Wendy Mann, Government Documents librarian at the University of Pittsburgh Hillman Library, which has available partial census data in CD format from the 1970 and 1980 censuses, and census reports on paper and microfilm back to 1790.
• The Pennsylvania State Data Center <http://pasdc.hbg.psu.edu> offers full day workshops on using the Census.
--Barb Folb
