Searching for Geographies Tutorial
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Video Transcript:
- Welcome to the American FactFinder 'Searching for Geographies in Advanced Search' tutorial.
- In this tutorial, we will demonstrate how to search for data using Geographies in Advanced Search. You will learn how to search for geographies by geographic type, name, address, or by using a map.
- To begin, click on Advanced Search on the Main Page.
- Click 'Geographies' on the left side of the screen to open the 'Select Geographies' window.
- There are four ways to search for geographies in American FactFinder:
- Use the List tab to search for geographies using a dropdown menu of geographic types.
- Use the Name tab to search for geographies using the name of the geography. You can enter a geography name in the text box search or you can filter geography results using categories such as 'Geographic Type', 'Summary Level' or 'Within State' to find specific geographies or groups of geographies.
- Use the Address tab to search for geographies using an address. When you enter an address, you will get a search result list of geographies that are associated with that address.
- You can also search for geographies by making selections on a map.
- This tutorial will focus on examples using the Geographies List and Name tabs.
- Let's search for Alexandria, Virginia using the List Tab.
- Notice that you can select between 'most requested geographic types' or 'all geographic types'. The 'most requested geographic types' is selected by default. Here, you will find the most requested geographic types listed in the 'Select a geographic type' dropdown menu. If you aren't able to find the geography you are looking for, select 'all geographic types' to display all of the available geographic types in American FactFinder.
- Click on the 'select a geographic type' dropdown menu and select 'Place.'
- A new dropdown menu appears, prompting you to select a state.
- Select 'Virginia'. Next, select Alexandria city from the last dropdown menu.
- Click 'Add to Your Selections'.
- 'Alexandria city, Virginia' is added to 'Your Selections'.
- Close the Select Geographies window. Your search results are updated, showing tables and other documents available for Alexandria city, Virginia.
- Now, let's search for a geography using the Name Tab.
- You can enter a geography name in a text box search, or filter your geography results using categories such as 'Geographic Type', 'Summary Level' or 'Within State' to find specific geographies or groups of geographies.
- In this example, we will search for Congressional District 1 in the state of Iowa.
- To begin, type 'Iowa' in the Geography Name Search text box and click GO.
- Your Geography Filters are updated with the word "Iowa".
- The Geography Results now include all geographies containing the word "Iowa", and
- The Geography Filter Options are updated to show only available options.
- You can add and remove items from the Your Geography Filters at any time.
- There are many ways you can search for geographies in the Geography Filter Options, including Geographic Type, Summary Level, or Geographies contained within another geography, such as "Within State."
- Since the Geographic Type we are searching for in our example is Congressional District, click Congressional District in the Geographic Filter Options.
- Notice that:
- Your Geography Filters are updated to include Congressional District;
- The Geography Results now list groups of and individual Congressional Districts in Iowa; and
- The Geography Filter Options are updated to show only available options.
- Since we know we are searching for an individual Congressional District and not a group of Congressional Districts, we can select to only display 'Individual geographies' by clicking on the 'Include in results' Filter near the bottom of the Geographic Filter Options.
- The Geography results now only show individual Congressional Districts in Iowa. Congressional Districts are listed multiple times because Congressional District boundaries may change over time. Let's select Congressional District 1 for the most recent Congress that American FactFinder contains data for, which would be 'Congressional District 1 (112th Congress), Iowa'. You can add it to 'Your Selections' by either clicking on its name, or by selecting the checkbox next to it and then clicking 'Add'.
- 'Congressional District 1 (112th Congress), Iowa' is added to 'Your Selections'.
- Close the 'Select Geographies' window. Your search results now show tables and other documents that are available for the geographies contained in 'Your Selections'.
- To start a new search in American FactFinder, you can clear 'Your Selections' by clicking on the 'clear all selections and start a new search' link.
- This concludes the 'Searching for Geographies in Advanced Search' Tutorial.
- For more information, view the other tutorials and the Geographies Search Help on American FactFinder.