Economy Online: Researching Your Regional Economy on the Web

The Data System and Users
The web is a blessing and a curse. There is more information available than ever before but it is difficult to know what is available and how to find it because the data system is incredibly decentralized. Information is generated by three major federal agencies:

The Census and BEA are part of the Department of Commerce. The BLS is part of the US Department of Labor. There are also hundreds of minor sources, many of which are unknown to users. Except for the Census most government data is a byproduct of regulation and reporting requirements.

Learning by doing is critical to learning about data. Studies show that: 84 percent of users are selftaught in analytical techniques; 74 percent learn about data sources by using them and the web is more frequently used than publications. Common complaints of users of data are the lack of timeliness, limited geographic detail and comparability between data sets.

Information, data, research, statistics and more are no longer the private reserve of scholars willing to plow through university libraries and government archives. They are at your fingertips.

The system may be the X Files “The data are out there.” Cortright says, “and like Scully and Mulder, most users are still wandering around in a fog. They suspect there is a conspiracy to keep them from finding the answer to their questions and nothing they learned at the academy prepared them for this.”

Data Finding Strategies
There are two primary strategies to finding data: Find a Nerd or Be a Nerd. To find someone who knows about data there are likely places to look: State Labor Market Information Offices, Census State Data Centers, Libraries, University Research Centers, members of professional organizations like the Association of University Business and Economic Researchers and networking with your peers. Identifying people with expertise can also help you if you choose the second strategy, to be a nerd. Developing your own expertise means getting your own data primarily from the net, learning by doing, and reaching out to peers and experts for help. There are also guides available in the “Complete Dummies” style.

  • Socioeconomic Data for Understanding Your Regional Economy: A User’s Guide. The User’s Guide is the  induscompanion piece to www.EconData.Net.
  • USDOL/ETA guide Conducting a Community Audit
  • WAI Publications Economic Development Alert and Economic Development: A Union Guide to the High Road. Continued

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