I think most of how have been working with data massaged by 3rd parties for many moons (e.g., Claritas-Nielsen, GeoLytics, ESRI, among others). It doesn’t hurt to check against known sources, such
as the Census 2010 Profiles for some peace of mind, but, in general, yes, I trust the 3rd parties.
Manny Trillo
Manager, Research Data
Mid-America Regional Council
600 Broadway, Suite 200
Kansas City, MO 64105
Phone: 816.701.8220
Fax: 816.427.7758
E-mail:
mtrillo@marc.org
How does the Kansas City area compare to other peer metros? Check out Metro Outlook,
www.metrooutlook.org
From: ctpp-news-bounces@chrispy.net [mailto:ctpp-news-bounces@chrispy.net]
On Behalf Of mkaminowitz@baltometro.org
Sent: Sunday, August 28, 2011 4:51 PM
To: ctpp-news@chrispy.net
Subject: Re: [CTPP] Re: AFF2 and its well-known faults
Can data from third party distributors be trusted? I would like to break free of AFF2, in fact I have to since half the time the data won't download or the table
is mysteriously unavailable. But I am concerned about relying on data that has been removed from the original source. If there were an error in a table the the Census corrected the data, would the correction carry over to these sites?
Mara
-----Original Message-----
From: Graham, Todd [mailto:todd.graham@metc.state.mn.us]
Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2011 05:36 PM
To: ctpp-news@chrispy.net
Subject: [CTPP] Re: AFF2 and its well-known faults
|
I know you?re frustrated with AFF2. I no longer recommend it to anyone.
So if you need Census 2010 summary tabulations, here are best
online alternatives to AFF2 (my picks):
?
http://mcdc.missouri.edu/pub/data/sf12010/Datasets.html if you need
many tables for a large number of locations (for example, all Census Tracts in Minnesota). User interface looks complex the first time ? but you?ll see it?s easy ? and allows output in SAS, or flat-file or other formats. ?
http://nhgis.org if you need a
few tables (a few topics) for a large number of locations + you want ArcGIS shapefile too. ?
http://census.ire.org/data/bulkdata.html if you just need
one table (1 at a time) for a large number of locations. This is the quickest to navigate. The drawback is: this site does not provide descriptive column headings/labels. You?ll need SF1 documentation to decipher and re-label the column headings
it provides.
________________________
From: ctpp-news-bounces@chrispy.net [mailto:ctpp-news-bounces@chrispy.net]
On Behalf Of Jonathan Lupton
I know it?s a lost cause to expect the Census Bureau to see reason and dump AFF2, which sometime this fall will become their only portal for census and ACS data. But anyone who believes a data searching and downloading product has to require
tutorials and special training, or has to be clunky, needlessly complex, visually confusing, and counter-intuitive should visit the BEA?s new web site, and try downloading economic data for his/her local area. The steps are quick, the icons are clear and intuitive,
and you can get to some pretty complex stuff in a series of steps that leaves you feeling smart.
By comparison, speaking only for myself, I always come away from AFF2 either feeling dumb, or like a shoplifter who actually got away with something useful, despite the risks I had to take and the danger of complete failure.
However, I do appreciate the efforts of Elaine and others to provide tips and data-downloading alternatives to AFF2 ? thanks!
Jonathan Lupton AICP Research Planner Metroplan Little Rock AR 501-372-3300 |