# Presentation: 174866

## American Community SurveyMethods Training

**Ken Bryson**
- Senior Program Analyst
- American Community Survey Outreach and Analysis Staff
**SDC/BIDC Annual National Training Conference**
**September 14, 2005**

## Data User Training

***ACS Data User Guide***
**Has been drafted and will be released on September 30, 2005.**
**Workshops**
**The ACS *****Data User Guide *****can be used by the ACS Communication, Education and Information Staff; State Data Centers; Census Information Centers; Census Bureau Regional Office Partnership and Data Services; and others to conduct workshops.**
**Live Meeting Internet Training**
**The Census Bureau is beginning to use Microsoft Live Meeting to deliver training to data users for whom travel to a central location for a workshop is impractical.**

## ACS Data User Guide Outline

**Chapter 1.  Introduction**
**Chapter 2.  Use of single- and multi-year estimates**
**Chapter 3.  Geography**
**Chapter 4.  Availability of data products by geographic level**
**Chapter 5.  Accessing ACS data**
**Chapter 6.  Using data on different types of variables**
**Chapter 7.  Communication with data users**
**Chapter 8.  ACS Design and Methodology Report**
**Chapter 9.  Using ACS with data from other sources**
**Chapter 10. Data user scenarios**
**Appendix 1. Glossary**
**Appendix 2. Workbook**

## Use of Single- and Multi-Year Estimates

**Schedule for release of products**
**Single-year estimates**
**Multi-year estimates: drilling down**
**Measuring trends**

## Exercise 2.1.  When you complete this exercise you will be able to...

- Access ACS data using *Fast Access to Information* on American FactFinder;
- Explain why ACS, Census 2000, and intercensal estimates of population by age differ; and
- Explain how exclusion of group quarters from the ACS survey affects ACS estimates of the population by age.

## Exercise 2.2.  When you complete this exercise you will be able to...

- Access ACS data using *People *on American FactFinder;
- Access ACS ranking tables and charts;
- Explain how confidence intervals around the estimates tell whether the estimates for two geographic areas are statistically different; and
- Explain that rankings are *ties* if estimates for two geographic areas are not statistically different.

## Drilling Down:Cabarrus County, NC

- Cabarrus
- County:
- 2006, and
- every year
- thereafter

- Kannapolis
-  Township

- Kannapolis
- Township:
- 2008, and
- every year
- thereafter

- All other
- townships:
- 2010, and
- every year
- thereafter

## Exercise 2.4.  When you complete this exercise you will be able to...

- Explain that multi-year estimates for large- or moderate-size geographic areas are relatively reliable;
- Explain that multi-year estimates for small geographic areas, such as census tracts, are relatively unreliable;
- Show how planners may be able to use relatively unreliable estimates *for some purposes*; and
- Show how maps can help planners make decisions based on ACS estimates.

## Exercise 2.5.  When you complete this exercise you will be able to...

- Explain that multi-year estimates for small population groups, such as people ages 16 to 19, are relatively unreliable;
- Explain the concept of lower and upper bounds of an estimate; and
- Show how to use lower and upper bounds to decide whether two estimates are statistically different.

## Exercise 2.6.  When you complete this exercise you will be able to...

- Show that multi-year estimates can smooth an irregular time series of single-year estimates;
- Calculate a multi-year estimate, using a simple method, from a series of single-year estimates; and
- Show that multi-year estimates lag single-year estimates.

## Smoothing Trends With Multi-Year Estimates

## Slide 12

## Exercise 4.1.  When you complete this exercise you will be able to...

- Calculate the standard error given an estimate and its lower and upper bounds;
- Calculate the coefficient of variation given an estimate and its standard error; and
- Apply the ACS data release rules to decide if a detailed table could be released to the public.

## Slide 14

## Slide 15

## Exercise 5.1.  When you complete this exercise you will be able to...

- Access ACS data using *Data Sets* on American FactFinder;
- Download a table from FactFinder into an Excel spreadsheet; and
- Apply what you have learned in previous exercises about determining whether different estimates are statistically different.

## Exercise 6.1.  When you complete this exercise you will be able to...

- Interpret an ACS estimate by answering these questions:
- What questionnaire item was used to produce this estimate?
- How is the underlying concept defined?
- What is the allocation rate for this item?
- How precise does the estimate need to be for your purpose?

## Exercise 9.1.  When you complete this exercise you will be able to...

- Answer a specific data user question by choosing an appropriate estimate from alternative data sources such as:
- ACS
- SIPP
- CPS
- Interpret your answer by restating the data user question to clarify its meaning.

## QUESTIONS

**What are the next steps?**
- How can we help you train data users?
**How can I give you comments on the Data User Guide?**
**Other questions?**