Places, Data, and Understanding

Doing place-based research for

your summer internship

Simon Elichko (they/them)

Social Sciences & Data Librarian

Take a guess

(handout on your table)
 

Census - 1.8-2.3 - by county - 2019-2023

What we'll work on today:

  • Understanding challenges related to finding reliable data about local communities in the United States
  • Developing practical skills for quickly finding a range of useful data about people and places
  • Knowing how to extend and build your skills
    (for example, in your field placement)

What does data represent?

screenshot of census americans twitter

Census Americans

 

"the Census, one real American at a time"

Why does it matter?

What can we learn about?

groups of people

neighborhoods

cities

metropolitan areas

counties

states

 

} 

geographies

Learn about US Census geographies

Historical data and cross-country comparisons:

Our World in Data + other sources

Easiest to find data is generally:

  • High-level - US or state level; outside the US, country level

  • Recent past - last year, 5-10 years before that

Challenges with
local areas:

  • Smaller samples have increased privacy concerns (easier to identify individuals)
  • Higher margins of error
  • Cost

When should we place limits?

Considerations:
 

• Identifiability

• Sensitivity

• Risk

(ethical practice + data use)

Throughout the process:

• Collecting

• Curating (describing)

• Representing (analysis)

• Sharing (publishing)

See this New York Times article from April 9, 2025 for historical background and current concerns

Where can you look for data?

Tradeoffs between ease of use and flexibility/control

  • Published statistics from reports, news, books

  • Curated data tools

    • e.g. Social Explorer and Policy Map

  • Creating custom data tables  

    • e.g. Data.Census.gov

  • Working with raw data & microdata

    • e.g. Integrated Public Use Microdata (IPUMS)

    • e.g. Research datasets from ICPSR

Data & Stats Research Guide:
bit.ly/data-stats-swat-libraries


bit.ly/place-data-worksheet

Understanding Census tract numbers

More info about Census tracts

Some types of stories you

can find in data:

• Changes over Time

• Interesting Factoids

• Surprising Connections

• Personal Experiences

• Revealing Comparisons

 

(see slide 16)

Getting help with data & research

 

including over the summer!

Meet with Simon

 

Other ways to get library & research help: