Hi,

As far as I know, Social Explorer does not normalize the data from year to year like NCDB does. So NCDB will make sure all the boundaries are the same when you are comparing data across years, but Social Explorer will just show you the data from that year, in that year's boundaries.

You can also get data directly in a shapefile format from Geolytics, which is nice. We currently use both Geolytics and Social Explorer.

Jennie


Jennie Murack
Geospatial Data Librarian and Statistics Specialist
MIT Libraries, 7-238
617-258-6680
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From: Maps-L: Discussion Forum for Maps, Air Photo, Map Librarianship, GIS, etc. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of March, Greg
Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2014 11:38 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Social Explorer vs. Geolytics

Hello,

Is it necessary to keep any of our Geolytics census disks if we now have Social Explorer?  Specifically, should we hold onto the Geolytics Neighborhood Change Database (NCDB) disks if we also have Social Explorer Pro?  Our Geolytics disks rarely get used, but I wonder if Social Explorer provides the same detail for Neighborhood Change that the Geolytics data provides.  Any information is appreciated.

Thanks!

-Greg

Gregory H. March
Associate Professor
Map & Geospatial Data Librarian
University of Tennessee
236A Hodges Library
Knoxville, TN 37996
865-974-3878