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Social Explorer: Home

Social Explorer FAQs

A screenshot of Social Explorer with a split screen of two maps of the United States. On the left side there is map showing the number of people per state that did not have health insurance coverage in 2008 and on the right side it shows the same data but from 2021. The states with a larger portion of their populations without health insurance are darker orange compared to states with a smaller proportion of their population with out health insurance. The two maps side by side demonstrate that the number of people without health insurance coverage has decreased.What is Social Explorer? 

Social Explorer is an online tool that allows you to explore and visualize a variety of demographic, health, and economic data in geographical and table formats. It is primarily known for its ability to allow users to quickly and easily access United States Census and American Community Survey data but also includes datasets from the FBI, Eurostat, the World Bank, the Canadian Census, and others.

How do I access Social Explorer?

GSU students, staff, and faculty can access Social Explorer Professional by creating an account with their GSU email address. 

Social Explorer's Guide to accessing their Professional Plan through your institution.

How do I use Social Explorer? 

There are multiple ways you can learn how to use Social Explorer:

Social Explorer Guide

Course-Specific Resources

Social Work 7100: Foundations of Community Partnerships - Prof. Brooks

  • How to make a table in Social Explorer:
     
    • This video shows two different ways you can create a table using Social Explorer. It also shows you how to use the map to determine the Census Tract and/or the Census Block of an area.

Social Work 7100: Foundations of Community Partnerships - Prof. Strickland

  • How to upload data to Social Explorer:
     
    • This example uses the following dataset from the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC)'s Open Data & Mapping Hub - 2019 Transit Stop Locations for the Atlanta Metro Area which includes stops for MARTA, Atlanta Street Car, Gwinnett County Transit, CobbLinc, and Xpress Georgia (Note: this dataset refers to the Xpress stops as "SRTA" stops). 
    • Other ARC open GIS datasets you can download and upload in Social Explorer

Social Explorer Workshops

The library's Research Data Services Team currently offers Social Explorer workshops at the Atlanta campus. Check the Research Data Services calendar or the University Library calendar to register for upcoming library workshops.

Social Explorer Recorded Workshop