Learn how to understand, use, and map census data.
15 Nov 2007
Course on 30 November 2007
Combining Census Aggregate Statistics with Digital Boundary Data for Mapping and Spatial Analysis
UK Censuses provide an unrivalled source of contemporary and historical demographic and socio-economic information, available with complete UK coverage at a range of geographical scales down to small local areas. Census information has a vast range of actual and potential uses, both on its own, and in conjunction with information from other sources. Census data has traditionally been used mainly in research, but new developments have reduced technical barriers and expanded its use in teaching and learning environments. Book yourself onto this course if you'd like to learn how to understand, make use of, and map census data in your own work, incorporate it into your teaching, or encourage others (your students, for example) to use it in their work.
The course begins with a brief overview of the wide range of census-related resources available from the units of the ESRC Census Programme, and then focuses on the census aggregate statistics, the most widely used component of the census outputs, available from the Census Dissemination Unit (CDU), and the digital boundary data (DBD) used for computer mapping and spatial analyses, available from UKBORDERS.
The course consists of a mixture of presentations and supervised hands-on exercises, and aims to be flexible enough to accommodate the particular interests of attendees, whilst providing answers to common questions such as:
- What are the census aggregate statistics?
- What is digital boundary data?
- What are they used for, and how might I use them?
- How can I identify and obtain information of interest to me?
- How can I combine aggregate statistics and DBD to produce maps and perform spatial analyses?
- What methods could I use to combine non-census information (e.g. postcoded sample data) with aggregate statistics and DBD?
The course is aimed primarily at postgraduates, researchers, teaching staff and data intermediaries (such as librarians, for example). Places are free of charge to all members of UK Higher and Further Education institutions.
An online booking form is available from:
The venue for the course is the Lascelles Williams Training Room, Kilburn Building, The University of Manchester (building 39 on the campus map).
Information about other workshops being provided by the ESRC Census Programme is available from the census.ac.uk website.