The following table compares some of the features available in four resources available to UCF students, faculty and staff. Each database provides demographic data about the U.S. population from the national level down to the block group level.
| American FactFinder | DemographicsNow | SimplyAnalytics | Social Explorer | |
| Subscription? | Free from U.S. Census | Available to library card holders of public & academic libraries throughout Florida |
UCF students, faculty, staff
|
UCF students, faculty, staff |
| Overview | Free, but confusing | Ready-made reports & graphs (e.g., Executive Summary); five-year forecasts | Extensive marketing data with attitudes/opinions, specific brands and powerful customization; five-year forecasts | Easy reports, maps across decades, PowerPoint export |
| Research Guide | - | https://guides.ucf.edu/demographicsnow | https://guides.ucf.edu/simplymap | https://guides.ucf.edu/socialexplorer |
| Login URL | http://factfinder2.census.gov/ | https://guides.ucf.edu/database/DemographicsNow | https://guides.ucf.edu/database/SimplyMap | https://guides.ucf.edu/database/SocialExplorer |
| Limit # Users? | No | No | 5 simultaneous users | 3 simultaneous users |
| Personal Storage? | No | No | create personal account within libraries' subscription(recommended) | create personal account within libraries' subscription |
| Coverage | current & historical data | current & historical data and future estimates |
current data and future estimates |
current & historical data |
| Dates | 2000-2010+ | 1980-2010+ & 5-Yr Forecast | 2010+ & 5-Yr Forecast | 1790-2010+ |
| Earliest year | 2000 | 1980 (brief data); 1990 | 2010 | 1790 |
| Annual data? | American Community Survey | No | American Community Survey | American Community Survey |
| Forecasts? | No | 5-year forecast | 5-year forecast | No |
| Number of Variables | ? | 18,000+ | 75,000+ | 250,000+ |
| Topics | 2000 & 2010 decennial population & housing data + American Community Surveys |
1990, 2000, & 2010 decennial census population & housing data 1980 & 2000 brief comparison |
2010 & 2015: decennial population & housing data + American Community Surveys current/recent: consumer |
1790-current: decennial population & housing data + American Community Surveys 1980-2009: religious congregations & membership 2002: carbon dioxide emissions map |
| Ready-made reports? | QuickFacts | Yes (major feature) | No |
Yes |
| Consumer spending? | No | Yes | Yes |
No |
| Attitudes & Opinions? | No | No | Simmons (extensive) | No |
| Health? | No | No | Simmons | No |
| Religion? | No | No | limited attitudes/opinions data about religion available in Simmons lifestyle data | congregations & membership (1980+) churches by faith (1850-1870) |
| Market segments? | No | Mosaic | PRIZM and other data | No |
| Ring Study? | No | customizable by distance & drive time | 1, 3, 5 miles | No |
| Select data by points on map? | No | No | Yes | Yes (recommended) |
| Download | Excel, CSV, PDF, RTF | Excel, Word, PDF | Excel, CSV, DBF | Excel, CSV |
| Statistical analysis | download CSV | download CSV | download CSV | programs to import & label data in SAS, STATA, & SPSS |
| PowerPoint | - | - | save maps as GIF or PDF | direct export of map slides to PowerPoint |
| GIS | TIGER/Line files separate | use external sources | direct export of shapefiles | use external sources |
| Data Sources | U.S. Census Bureau | U.S. Census Bureau, Applied Geographic Solutions | U.S. Census Bureau, D&B, Experian Simmons, Nielsen, Mediamark Research, Easy Analytics Software Inc., Applied Geographic Solutions | U.S. Census Bureau, InfoGroup, Glenmary Research Center, NASA/Dept. of Energy |
| Company website | U.S. Census Bureau | Gale Cengage Learning | Geographic Research, Inc. | Oxford University Press |