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The DOI matches its Crossref record; 13 of the 13 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Patterns and causes of uncertainty in the American Community Survey

Open access
Spielman, Seth E., Folch, David, Nagle, Nicholas·2014·Applied Geography

Abstract

In 2010 the American Community Survey (ACS) replaced the long form of the United States decennial census. The ACS is now the principal source of high-resolution geographic information about the U.S. population. The margins of error on ACS census tract-level data are on average 75 percent larger than those of the corresponding 2000 long-form estimate. The practical implications of this increase is that data are sometimes so imprecise that they are difficult to use. This paper explains why the ACS tract and block group estimates have large margins of error. Statistical concepts are explained in plain English. ACS margins of error are attributed to specific methodological decisions made by the Census Bureau. These decisions are best seen as compromises that attempt to balance financial constraints against concerns about data quality, timeliness, and geographic precision. In addition, demographic and geographic patterns in ACS data quality are identified. These patterns are associated with demographic composition of census tracts. Understanding the fundamental causes of uncertainty in the survey suggests a number of geographic strategies for improving the usability and quality ACS.

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Metadata

Authors
Spielman, S. E., Folch, D., & Nagle, N.
Venue
Applied Geography
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2014-01
Volume
46
Pages
147-157
ISSN
0143-6228 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W1987541658
Cited by
278
References
13
FWCI
11.47
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
green

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Patterns and causes of uncertainty in the American Community Survey. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1016/j.apgeog.2013.11.002
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Spielman, S. E., Folch, D., & Nagle, N. (2014). Patterns and causes of uncertainty in the American Community Survey. Applied Geography. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2013.11.002

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