Using the Census's American Community Survey

Cynthia Taeuber

Aim of Course:

To walk through the U.S. Census Bureau's new American Community Survey. This Survey is the cornerstone of the new decennial census methodology and will replace the long form in future censuses. Currently, analysts, managers and planners must make do with increasingly out-of-date detailed information about the characteristics of the population and housing while awaiting the next decennial census. This information is now available annually, opening up new horizons and opportunities in market research. In this course, you will learn what sort of information is included, how to obtain it, and what methodological and sample size issues present themselves.

Who Should Take This Course:

Market researchers, journalists, researchers, government planners, and anyone who needs geographically-specific information about population demographics and economic activity.

For those enrolled in Professional Advancement Programs, this is a required or elective course in the following Programs:

• Statistics for Social Sciences - elective

Course Program:

The course is structured as follows

The Instructor:

Ms. Taeuber is a private consultant to many large institutions to help them with their demographic and data needs. She was a senior policy advisor at the University of Baltimore's Jacob France Institute and had 30 years of experience at the U.S. Census Bureau where she directed the analytic staff for the American Community Survey and received the Commerce Dept.'s Gold Medal Award for her innovative work on the American Community Survey. She is the author of "The American Community Survey: Updated Information for America's Communities," and more. Ms. Taeuber is a frequent public speaker, often interviewed by the national press and has been featured as a guest on radio and television programs. She has extensive experience preparing testimony for the U.S. Congress.

Organization of the Course:

The course takes place over the internet, at statistics.com. During each course week, you participate at times of your own choosing - there are no set times when you must be online. Course participants will be given access to a private discussion board. In class discussions led by the instructor, you can post questions, seek clarification, and interact with your fellow students and the instructor. The course is scheduled to take place over 4 weeks, and typically requires 10-15 hours per week. At the beginning of each week, you receive the relevant material, in addition to answers to exercises from the previous session. During the week, you are expected to go over the course materials and work through exercises. Discussion among participants is encouraged. The instructor will provide answers and comments.

Certificates and Grades:

You may be interested only in learning the material presented, and not be concerned with grades or certificates. Or you may be enrolled in a statistics.com Professional Advancement Program that requires demonstration of proficiency in the subject, in which case your work will be assessed for purposes of issuing a grade. Or you may require only a "Certificate of Course Completion," along with professional development credit in the form of Continuing Education Units (CEU's). As you begin the class, you will be asked to specify your category.

Credit:

This course offers continuing education units (CEU's). For those successfully completing the course (generally this means marks of 50% or better on the homework), 5.0 CEU's and a certificate will be issued by statistics.com, upon request.

Dates:

Feb. 13 - Mar. 13, 2009
Click here to be notified of future course offerings.

Participants gain access to the online materials on the first day of the course, and typically spend about 10-15 hours per week (at their convenience). You retain full access to course materials, including discussion board, for two weeks after the course closing date.

Level:

Introductory

Prerequisite:

Most of the course requires no specific background in statistics. Session 3's sections on sampling and sampling error assume little knowledge of sampling and sampling error, and this course will provide an understanding of the concepts as they related to using the American Community Survey and will provide references on the accuracy of the statistics from this Survey. We recommend obtaining additional information on these topics in Survey of Statistics for Beginners, Introduction to Statistics I: Inference for a Single Variable, and Introduction to Statistics II: Working with Bivariate Data. Those with a deep interest in this particular question might also consider taking Sample Size and Power Determination.

Course Text:

The required text is Using Census's American Community Survey. You can purchase it at Amazon.com.

Software:

None

Registration:

Register Online - $449
Register Online (academic) - $349 (you must be affiliated with a college, university or high school)

Add $50 service fee if you require a prior invoice, or if you need to submit a purchase order or voucher, pay by wire transfer or EFT, or refund and reprocess a prior payment. Please use this printed registration form, for these and other special orders.

Note: Courses may fill up at any time and registrations are processed in the order in which they are received. Your registration will be confirmed for the first available course date, unless you specify otherwise.