Use these variables to begin exploring what SimplyAnalytics has to offer. This is not an exhaustive list of the variables that may offer insights into the demographics, news and information consumption, and consumer behavior of residents of the State College area.

As you're browsing or searching through variables, you'll see four types of metrics used: total, household average, count, and percentage.

Total vs. Household average

Total and household average metrics are usually used for consumer expenditure variables. If you do a search for newspaper, for example, the first results are under the data folder Consumer Expenditure >> Reading and are listed as Newspapers and Newspapers (Household average).

If you select Newspapers, the map will display the estimated total that all households in the geographic location spent on newspapers per year. 

If you select Newspapers (Household average), the map will display the estimated average that one household in the geographic location spends on newspapers per year.

Count (#) vs. Percentage (%)

Most non-expenditure variables use either counts or percentages. If a variable is preceded by the # symbol, it is a count variable; if it is preceded by the % symbol, it is a percentage.

For example, if you search for TV, the first results are under the data folder SimmonsLocal >> Automotive Miscellaneous >> Research for Automotive Purchase/Lease >> Sources Used and are listed as # Automotive Miscellaneous | Research for Automotive Purchase/Lease | Sources Used | TV/Radio and % Automotive Miscellaneous | Research for Automotive Purchase/Lease | Sources Used | TV/Radio.

If you select # Automotive Miscellaneous | Research for Automotive Purchase/Lease | Sources Used | TV/Radio, the map will display the estimated number of households that used TV or radio to research automotive purchases in each geographic area.

If you select % Automotive Miscellaneous | Research for Automotive Purchase/Lease | Sources Used | TV/Radio, the map will display the estimated percentage of households that used TV or radio to research automotive purchases geographic area.

The Market Segments data category is comprised of variables that come from MRI-Simmons, a market research firm. Simmons characterizes households based on demographic and economic characteristics as well as consumer behavior, attitudes, and lifestyles, including media consumption.

The Segments are a quick way to get a sense of who lives in a given area. 

There are two sets of Mosaic variables available under the Market Segments data category: Household Groups and Household Segments. Each Group contains at least two Segments.

Both the Groups and Segments have distinctive names. Groups include "Aspirational Fusion," "Golden Year Guardians," and "Thrifty Habits." Segments include "Colleges and Cafes," "Homemade Happiness," and "Suburban Sophisticates."

When you generate a map using one of these variables, areas with a relatively higher concentration of households that fall into that category than the surrounding areas will be highlighted.

You may find that some areas are grayed out - typically, that means that there aren't a significant number of households that are considered to be within that segment.

While displaying a Market Segment variable on the map can offer insights, generating a Related Data Table allows you to see what percentage of households in a given area fall into each Group or Segment. For more on generating a Related Data Table, visit the Views page of this guide.

Another grouping of variables from MRI-Simmons focuses on consumer behavior related to media consumption. One way to find these variables is to:

1. Click on Data Folder in the Data menu
2. Click on MRI-SimmonsLOCAL
3. Click on the Media folder
4. Browse through the subfolders to see what is available

For example, to see what percentage of households responded that they used the internet to "[obtain] the latest news/current events" in the last 30 days, you could click on Internet, then Activities Done in the Last 30 Days, and then choose % MEDIA | INTERNET | ACTIVITIES DONE IN LAST 30 DAYS | OBTAINED THE LATEST NEWS/CURRENT EVENTS.

You could also search for variables of interest by entering relevant search terms - for example, searching Internet news would return that variable, plus additional variables such as what percentage of households have visited specific news sites in the last 30 days.