Getting Started > Getting Data > Import U.S. Census Microdata

Import U.S. Census Microdata

You can directly import samples of U.S. census microdata (data about individual people) from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) Web site at the University of Minnesota. This is a rich source of interesting data, which Fathom makes easy to access and explore.

1. In a new, empty Fathom document, choose File | Import | U.S. Census Data (which means, go to the File menu, then Import, and choose U.S. Census Data).

Fathom creates an empty collection and opens its inspector to the Microdata panel.

Fathom provides default selections for you. You can download the request at this point or expand the headings to specify sample size, places and years to sample from (Choosing Cases), and choose more information about each person (Attributes). (See Import U.S. Census Microdata from IPUMS for more detail.)

2. Click Download Data in the lower right corner of the inspector.

Fathom sends a request to the IPUMS Web site and returns the requested data. When it's done, the status area changes to reflect the number of cases imported, and the collection icon image changes to a box full of gold balls.

3. Go to the Cases panel of the inspector by clicking its tab (the one farthest left).

Here, you can see the first case (columns can be resized) and scroll through the cases by clicking the arrows at the bottom left. This panel also gives you access to the attributes so you can drop them on graphs.

You are ready to graph your data, go to Beginner Graphing.


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