Subject Guide
Library Links
- Ask a LibrarianContact a librarian by chat, phone, email, in-person or schedule a reference appointment.
- FAQs at the University LibrariesFind the answers to frequently asked questions here!
- Interlibrary LoanRequest a book, article, or another item not available in the Ball State University Libraries.
Using the U.S. Census Site
- Explore Census Data: Advanced SearchFind information specifically about your neighborhood population. Topics include housing, population demographics, education level, and employment. See the Using Explore Census Data video linked below.
- Using Explore Census Data VideoThis brief video shows how to use the Explore Census Data tool found on the U.S. Census website to find information about neighborhoods.
- 2020 Census Tract MapsScroll down to Download Maps and select a state. Find your county and then download the pdf Census Tract map.
- 2020 Census Block MapsFind your state using the County Subdivisions box. Then find the directory for your county and download the pdf. To find the block number or block group, open the pdf and locate the block or blocks you are researching. Each block has has a number (e.g. 1001, 1002, etc.). Block numbers beginning with the same number form a block group. For example, the blocks beginning with 1 form Block Goup1. Also make note of the Census Tract number where the block or blocks are located, you will need that when you query Explore Census Date.
Finding Secondary Data
These sources will help you locate data about morbidity, mortality, and prevalence as well as population.
- STATS Indiana This link opens in a new windowFind population information for Indiana, its counties, and cities. See the Data by Topic tab for information about topics such as births, deaths, income, and population.
- Summary of Notifiable DiseasesThe Center for Disease Control reports cases of selected diseases. The summary provides statistical information about these diseases by state and region, including number and rate. See your State's department of health website for county information.
- Indiana State Department of Health: Reports and StatisticsClick on "Infectious Diseases" under Data & Reports to see a report similar to the CDC's Summary of Notifiable Diseases. Other reports such as the "HIV/STD/Viral Hepatitis Reports" and the "Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System" report may be of interest as well.
- Vital Statistics of the United States (online)Current U.S. Vital Statistics about births, deaths, causes of deaths, etc. You can search the reports or use the All Keywords drop down box to select a keyword.
- Death Reports (Indiana)An annual report of the causes of death from 2013 to 2017. More recent information can be found using the stats explorer Stats Explorer.
- Medicare Hospital CompareSee patient surveys for hospitals. Enter a zip code and search. Select a hospital, click on the View Rating Details and View Survey Details buttons.
- Severe Events DatabaseSee when severe weather events such as tornadoes, hail, heavy snow, etc. have affected a county from 1950 to the present. Select a state and then a county.
- Search Earthquake ArchivesDetermine when earthquakes have occurred since 1900. Use the orange Draw Rectangle on Map button to define the area you are researching.
- PreventionWeb: Disaster Data & StatisticsFind national statistics concerning natural disasters. See the Disaster Statistic Reports at the bottom of the page.
- County Health RankingsView reports for counties showing health factors effecting their community. Explore factors that drive health U.S. counties and see where a county ranks within the state.
- Cancer Statistics at a GlanceThis site maps cancer in the U.S. and it states from 2015 to 2019. The data can be broken down by cancer types, races and ethnicities, male/ female, and rate/ number of new cancers or deaths.
- My Community Explorer (MCE)This interactive map tool highlights demographic and socioeconomic data on a county level including some information on a Census Tract level. To see data, zoom in on a state and select a county, zoom in further to select a Census Tract. Data is drawn from sources such as the American Community Survey, County Business Patterns, NOAA, and include things such as age 65+, poverty line, and number of risk factors. Customize the information by using the Layers icon in the upper right corner of the map.
- Healthy Community Alliance of East Central IndianaHover your pointer over Explore Data to find county level information about demographics, health disparities, health equities, mental health, and food insecurity in East Central Indiana. You will also see a Healthy People 2030 tracker and Community dashboard. This cite gathers data from sources such as the National Cancer Institute, the Centers for Disease Control, the American Community Survey and many state-specific sources. Most of the data is reported on an annual basis.
Health Risks and Determinants of Health
- Community GuideGuides to disease prevention in the community. Click on Topics near the top of the screen for more information.
- Center for Disease ControlSee the Health Topics A-Z link for health information. For statistics, click on Data & Stats and then Data.CDC.gov under Popular Tools and Topics.
- Healthy People 2030Healthy People is a 10-year national program intended to help communities to improve the health of all Americans. To learn about the 2030 objectives click on Objectives and Data, then click on the "Browse Objectives by Topic" button. Contains information about health conditions, behaviors, populations and settings and systems and social determinants of health.
- Healthy People 2020Archive of the 2020 Healthy People site.
- Healthy People 2020 Determinants of HealthLearn about the determinants of health.
- Healthy People 2020 Final ReviewProvides a quantitative end-of-decade assessment of the progress toward achieving the 2020 goals.
- Health United States 2004-2019U.S. health statistics from the CDC. HTML and pdf versions of the report can be accessed by click on the report title. To download the pdf see the link in the upper part of the right column.
- County Health RankingsFind out how healthy your county is and explore factors that drive health in your county.
- Indiana IndicatorsClicking on Dashboards at the top of the screen and then on the Comparisons tab. This enables users to compare health indicators for multiple geographies within Indiana.
Finding Guidlines
- National Guideline Clearinghouse: Evidence-based Practice CenterA public resource for evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. Scroll down and click on "Search All EPC Reports."
- MEDLINE with Full Text This link opens in a new windowYou can limit your search in MEDLINE with Full Text to guidelines. Do a search and then select "Guidelines" under "Source Types" in the left column of the results list.