Social Explorer Help » Basics

Social Explorer allows you to create reports comparing a variety of subjects in multiple areas and download data for further processing.

To open the Reports application, click on the “Reports” tab on the blue bar, then select the census year you would like to use. You will be taken to a page where you can begin to create your report.

Creating a Report

After you select a census year, creating a report is divided into three steps: selecting geographies, selecting tables and results. The steps are outlined on the “You are Here” bar at the top of each page. You can always go back to previous steps and change your selections by clicking on the appropriate step in the “You are Here” bar.

Selecting Geographies
Selecting Subjects
Results

Selecting Geographies

The first step in creating a report is selecting the geographies you would like to get data for. You can select the geographies either from a list or by entering the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) codes. FIPS codes provide unique identifications of each geography and can be strung together to form a unique ID for every geography on all geographic levels (with a few minor exceptions in 2000 where the census id is used instead). For example, each state has a unique FIPS code, and each county within each state has a unique code (they may repeat between states though). Putting them together, a state FIPS code (2 digits) followed by a county FIPS code (3 digits), creates a unique identifier such as ‘36047‘ for Kings county in New York State. This is often the preferred method used by professionals to identify geographies.

Using the List

Selection Type - this changes how you select the geographic areas for your report. You can select the areas using either a list or by putting in the FIPS codes for the desired areas, or a mixture of both. The diagram above shows how to select areas using the list, and the diagram below shows how to select areas using the FIPS codes.
Explain Geography Types - takes you to a page that explains the different levels of geography that the data is sorted by.
Show All Geography Types/Show Major Geography Types - changes how many geography types are shown. Click here to switch from all types to just major types and back.
Select Geographic Type - select the level of geographic area you want to use, ie: Country, State, City, etc.
Select Geographic Area - Select the particular geographic are you want data from here. You can also choose to select all of one type of area within a larger area, ie: all census tracts in a county or state, from the top of the list. You can mix different geographic levels, for example, choosing a state and then adding counties, which do not have to be from that state.
Add - once you have selected the desired area, click “Add” here. You can go back and choose another area to add after you have added the first.
Current Geography Selections - displays the areas you have selected for your report.
Remove - select an area from the Current Geography Selections field and press here to remove.
Next - once Current Geography Selections is displaying all the areas you want for your report, click here.

Using FIPS Codes

Select Geographic Type - select the level of geographic area you want to use, ie: Country, State, City, etc.
Provide FIPS Codes - enter the FIPS codes for the areas you want to use.
Add - once you have entered the FIPS codes of the desired areas, click “Add” here.
Current Geography Selections - displays the areas you have selected for your report.
Remove - select an area from the Current Geography Selections field and press here to remove.
Next - once Current Geography Selections is displaying all the areas you want for your report, click here.

Selecting Reports or Census Tables

After selecting the area, you can select the subject of the report. You can choose to put your data in either a report or a table format. Reports are made from pre-selected tables that relate to the topic in the reports list. The Tables option allows you to customize your report by selecting the specific tables yourself.

Reports

After pressing “Next,” you will be taken to this page to choose the subject for your report.

From the circled tabs, you can decide whether you want a report or a table. The picture above shows the page for creating a report.
Select Report - select your report from this list.
Add - when you have selected the desired report, press “Add” here.
Current Report Selections - displays the reports you have selected.
Remove - select a report from the Current Report Selections field and press here to remove.
Show Result - when you have selected all the reports you want, press here to be taken to your results.

Tables

Select a Dataset - select a data set to provide the data for your report.
Select Table - select the table or tables you want from this list.
Items 3-6 work as on the above Reports page.

Results

Here is an example of the results for a table.

If you have selected a large amount of geographies or tables, you can browse your results by geography or table.

Object moved to here.

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