Sample Questions
Exercise 1.
You are the newly hired public relations director for Owen Realty, which owns four different apartment complexes in Summit County. Who are your key stakeholders?
Exercise 2.
You are the newly hired public relations director for Paws and Prayers, a nonprofit organization in Cuyahoga Falls, OH, that has as its mission: to rescue, rehabilitate and re-home displaced dogs and cats; to prevent overpopulation through spay/neuter; to restore dignity, trust and quality of life for neglected, abused and homeless dogs and cats; to find the best home for each dog and cat in our care; to educate adopters and our community on pet care, spaying/neutering, training and suitable animal selection for their lifestyle; and to provide a network of resources, volunteers and fosters for animals, animal shelters/pounds and the community. So, what general issues should you be researching that will be helpful to your organization?
Exercise 3.
You are the newly hired public relations director for the League of Women Voters. You are compiling research regarding voting in Alliance, Ohio. Specific questions that you need answers to are listed below. Do not use the Census Quick Facts or FactFinder tools. You need to list the steps of how you obtained the information and include all table/spreadsheet numbers and titles.
- How many people below the poverty line in the State of Ohio are estimated to be of voting-age population?
- How many people below the poverty line in the Alliance, OH Congressional District are estimated to be of voting-age population?
- How many estimated voters in the Alliance, OH Congressional District have household incomes of $100,00 or more?
- How many estimated citizen voters (25 years and older) in the Alliance, OH Congressional District have a bachelor's degree or higher?
- What can you infer from this data?
Sample Answers
Exercise 1.
Start with the Census Business Builder: Regional Analyst Edition.
Tip: It is best to filter by geography. For example, type in "Summit County, Ohio". You can extend the map area later if you choose. Once the map appears, choose the "All Sectors" drop down arrow. From drop down menu, choose the industry you are interested in reviewing, for example "Accommodation and Food Service". You can further narrow this industry by clicking on the words "Accommodation and Food Service" and narrowing to "Accommodation". Once you have chosen your industry, click on the "Select Industry" at the bottom of the "All Sectors" drop box. A report is generated for you. It is available to print from the bottom left corner. You can print the report or download it in a variety of formats. Make certain you scroll down to see the full report.
Exercise 2.
Tip: It is not necessary to always begin searching in a federal government resource. Sometimes using a general search engine, like Google, with your search terms and "government" or "statistics" can go a long way to get you started. Scroll down your results to look for the ".gov" suffix in the URL or a government organization ".org".
If you are asking yourself, "How many pets do people currently have?" You could begin with a Google search "How many pets do people own in the United States government". The results show U.S. Pet Ownership Statistics from the government as well as the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), a known and reliable organization. In addition, the search results in the Pets by the Number website. Take the time to find out where this organization is getting the statistical numbers from, as it is not clear from the webpage. After some digging, one finds that the "APPA" statistics are from a business. Business statistical information may be skewed. For more accurate information, you can extrapolate the information from the reliable resources to determine your answer.
Alternately, if you can narrow your Google search to "How many pets do people own in Summit County, Ohio government". The results show the "Division of Animal Control: Summit County, Ohio" which is a reliable resource.
You will notice that you cannot narrow too specifically in Google, "How many pets do people own in the Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio government", will not show better results. Still, knowing that most animal shelters are located outside of city boundaries, it would probably be better to extend the search to Summit County. At this point, you could use reliable county information.
If you are starting a new business, you may want to ask yourself, "What other shelters am I competing with in the Cuyahoga Falls area?"
To determine this, you can use the Census Business Builder. You want to focus on a small business information so use the Small Business Edition.
The Small Business Edition webpage provides icons for often used business types. You will not find Animal Shelters as an often used icon. Instead, use the search bar under the icons and type in "animal shelter". You will see the NAICS Code 812910 for Animal Shelters appear next to it. From there, you can narrow by location: Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Once you are done narrowing (adding layers), you can create your report.
Exercise 3.
How many people below the poverty line in the State of Ohio are estimated to be of voting-age population?
You can find this information from a variety of resources. Explore Census Data is a great place to start if you will need to narrow (or layer) your search. Begin by using the "advanced search" box option and with the geography "Ohio". From those results narrow (or layer) your data search sets.
Alternatively, you could also use Voting and Registration from Federal Elections as a place to begin.
How many people below the poverty line in the Alliance, Ohio Congressional District are estimated to be of voting-age population?
Explore Census Data can be narrowed geographically by Congressional District.
How many estimated voters in the Alliance, Ohio Congressional District have household incomes of $100,000 or more?
Continue your search from above in Explore Census Data. Note the total population for Alliance, using the data 18 years and older percentage-22.4%, calculate population older than 18 years.
Alternatively, you could also use the My Congressional District resource for quick data.
How many estimated citizen voters (25 years and older) in the Alliance, Ohio Congressional District have a bachelor's degree or higher?
From your search above in Explore Census Data, add another table or use the "customize" button to narrow (or layer) your search.