2023 Webinar Series – Analyzing 2017-2021 ACS Data using R and Python – A Webinar Series for Teachers and Researchers
2023’s webinar series is called Analyzing 2017-2021 ACS Data in R and Python. These webinars will be led by Kyle Walker, Associate Professor at Texas Christian University and R developer. During three free virtual workshops, participants will learn how to use R to analyze census data for use in courses and research in sociology, economics, public policy, urban studies and related disciplines. Participants are welcome to join one or all three webinars.
Webinar 1: Working with the 2021 American Community Survey with R and Tidycensus
February 8, 2023 1-4 PM EST
The US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey is the best resource for detailed demographic data on the United States population, and the new 2021 estimates were released in late 2022. In this workshop, participants will learn how to work with these datasets using R and the tidycensus R package. Participants will learn how to use tidycensus to acquire pre-formatted ACS data; calculate summary statistics; and make compelling demographic data visualizations. They will also be introduced to the 2021 ACS microdata and learn how to use microdata to calculate detailed cross-tabulations not available in published tables.
Webinar 2: Mapping and spatial analysis with ACS data in R
February 15, 2023 1-4 PM EST
R includes powerful tools for making informative maps and revealing patterns in datasets with spatial analysis. Participants in this workshop will learn how to use these tools to make both static and interactive maps with 2021 American Community Survey data from the US Census Bureau. They will also learn methods for spatial analysis in R to identify demographic “hot-spots”, analyze segregation and diversity, and perform business and market analytics.
Webinar 3: Working with geographic data and making maps in Python
February 22, 2023 1-4 PM EST
Python, one of the world’s most popular general-purpose programming languages, has excellent extensions for handling geographic datasets and making maps. In this workshop, participants will be introduced to the brand-new pygris package for Python, which is designed to help users work with US Census Bureau geographic data. Participants will learn the basics of GeoPandas, Python’s core GIS package; how to use pygris to connect to US Census Bureau data resources in Python; and how to make maps of election data, public health data, and more.