Form Survey of American Survey of American Survey of American Factfinder Stakeholders

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Survey of American FactFinder Stakeholders
The Census Bureau would like your feedback about potential enhancements to features and
functionalities of the American FactFinder (AFF)--your online data access tool. Your
responses will help us make informed decisions for an enhanced American FactFinder. We
want to better meet your needs for access and use of information from the 2010 Census,
the American Community Survey, the Economic Census, and other sources. The enhanced
American FactFinder will be released in phases, begining in February 2011. We have
identified a number of improvements but would like your input on any others that you
think would be important additions. Given our limited resources for development and
implementation, your responses also will help us to focus and prioritize improvements.
Sections 1and 2 describe functionalities that will be included in the new system. In Section 3,
please take four minutes to tell us about your additional needs. Your resposes are
voluntary. Brief descriptions of suggested enhancements will be posted when available on
the Census Bureau's web site at: www.census.gov/mso/www/npr/mktbrfs.html.
The Office of Management and Budget approval number for this survey is 0607-0760.
Without this number we could not conduct this survey or ask for your participation.
Approval expires November 30, 2010.
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Section 1 - Existing Features and Functionalities Like Those Below Will Be
Continued
(Please go directly to Section 2 if you are familiar with the existing functionalities.)
Today's American FactFinder (AFF) includes the following features...
·Current economic and demographic information and data sets
·Metadata, documentation, printed reports, training materials, and help tools
·Census Bureau products like detailed tables, subject tables, thematic maps, Narrative
Profiles, and more
Today's tables, maps, charts, and Narrative Profiles include the
following functionalities
·Bookmarks (e.g., use AFF's browser menu to bookmark a
single set of results, or a text page with links)
·Display statistical significance (reference maps excluded)
·Download underlying data (with or without presentation formatting)
·Print
·Restore selection parameters
·Save objects
·Save selected parameters
·Search
·Select/deselect objects by: geography, topic, population groups
·Specify file formats for downloading data
Today's data files include the following functionalities
·Download underlying data (with or without presentation formatting)
·Specify file formats for downloading data
·Select/deselect objects by: geography, topic, population groups

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These functionalities are only available in reference and thematic maps
·Change mapping scales to predefined values (e.g., allows users to
increase/decrease finite sets of zoom levels, to adjust feature/boundary detail)
·Reposition maps
·Select/deselect features, boundaries, and labels
Section 2. New Capabilities
Functionalities that exist today only for some tables will be
expanded to all tables. In addition, we plan to...

Implement for tables, maps, and data files
·Select geographic areas based on a population value (e.g., all counties with a population
greater than 1000)
·Calculate and display statistical significance
·Display errata with the data
·Display notes describing changes in geographic areas
·Reuse my selection parameters within my session (across product types and data sets)
·Choose my printing options
Implement only for tables
·Create new columns of data (e.g., percent of totals)
·Create new rows of data (e.g., subtotals)
·Create new geographic areas (e.g., marketing areas built from census tracts)
·Sum data for my geographic areas
·Sum data into higher level groupings (e.g., sum data for single years of age into to 5-year
groupings)
·Reorder columns or rows of data
·Sort rows of data (e.g., on numeric values or the alphabet)
·Transpose rows or columns
·Extract rows or columns
·Display variables from different datasets in columns or rows for the same categories (such
as counties in a state or age groups)
Implement only for maps
·Choose variables to be mapped
·Define map scale (zoom level)
·Sum data within a user-defined geographic area built from existing ones like tracts (e.g.,
total population)
Section 3. Your Helpful Feedback
1. Please describe up to five enhancements that you would like the Census
Bureau to consider for the new AFF. (Please do not include any of the
functionalities identified in Sections 1 and 2, above.)

a)

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b)

c)

d)

e)

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2. When using the American FactFinder (AFF), what are your intended PRIMARY USES for
the information? (Select a maximum of 3.)
To help me make informed decisions
To provide information requested by a customer
To analyze/track changes over time
To create value-added products/services
To develop a proposal, report, or presentation
To analyze markets and/or make projections-including sales forecasting
To update data bases
Other, please specify:

3. Would you like to be a beta tester for a future enhanced release of the AFF?
Yes
Uncertain
No

4. Your responses are im portant to us. If you answ ered "yes" to Question 3, or
w ould like to allow the Census Bureau to follow up w ith you regarding your
responses, please provide us your em ail address, below :

E-mail Address:

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Survey of American FactFinder Stakeholders and End-Users
January 2008
Your responses have been received. We will use results to help guide our decisions to
better meet your needs. Thank you for participating.
To close this window, click the X in the upper right corner of the window.