CensusScope Makes Swift Analysis Of Data

By: Charles Bowen The first personal computer I bought to bring into a newsroom was a brand new Tandy 100 laptop back in the early 1980s. Writing in Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code (BASIC), I created various number-crunching utilities that our editors and reporters could use to try to make sense out of the stream of new figures that were beginning to reach us from the 1980 Census. Later, we would use the same tools to analyze local retail sales figures, employment data, election results, and much more, but it was the 1980 Census that was the inspiration for our starting to get PC-literate at my newspaper.

All that seems like the Dark Ages now, looking back from this far side of the Web's 10th anniversary, but in those days 20 years ago, a little PC and a BASIC program or two could be downright revolutionary. Not to mention unsettling for some colleagues. I still remember a few old-liners wanting us to double- and triple-check all our findings, reluctant to trust data that came from such a tiny machine, especially one sold by Radio Shack. And one editor always insisted on referring to our new wave of data analysis as "playing with your computer." Behind his back, we called him -- I'm sure, with great affection -- "The Old Atarian," but, well, that's another story...

All of this came back to me this week as I found a wonderful new Web site to automate so much of what we sweated bits and bytes to do in BASIC two decades ago. Presented by the Social Science Data Analysis Network at the University of Michigan, CensusScope is a tool that makes swift analysis of data for states, counties, and metropolitan areas. Represented by charts, maps, and rankings, the data includes information such as growth rates, population by race, age structure, and family structure. Easily navigable, the site's charts and maps are concise and comprehensive, and the rankings are easy to follow.

To check it out, visit the site at http://www.censusscope.org, where you're greeted by a clearly designed opening page with clickable tabs along the top for topics such as charts, maps, and rankings. Scroll the page for any new developments at the site.

For example, at this writing, the site had just added new Census data on education and poverty as well as a report on single and multiple race populations in all the nation's metropolitan areas. For each tab you select, the site uses the left column to detail the particular reports available. For instance, click on the "Charts" tab and the site lists on the left the names of the charts that are available, such as Population Growth, Population by Race, Age Distribution, and so on. Also note that tools provided lower in the left column enable you to "zoom in and out" on the data geographically. That is, while the site defaults to showing you the material on the national level, you can use these tools to focus on individual states, metro areas, and/or specific counties.

Other considerations for using CensusScope in your writing and editing:

1. Of particular interest for a quick overview of a particular Census demographic will be the Maps option. Click that tab at the top of any CensusScope page, then select the type of breakdown you want, such as age distribution or racial mix. Initially, you'll see a color-coded map of the entire country. You then can click on a specific state to see charts breaking down the data for that area.

2. The Rankings tab produces charts tracking population and racial characteristics, but for states and for the countries within the states.

3. If you regularly cover Census reports on your beat, you might want to sign up for the CensusScope e-mailed newsletter. Click the "About" tab at the top of any page in the site and enter your name and e-mail address in the box at the left of the resulting screen.

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