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SmartReports are PERCEPTS unique
style of presenting demographic and ethographic information using text bolding, special symbols and
extensive comparison data. |
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Significance Pointers |
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To help you in studying the report,
variables which have a high index (above 110) are shown in bold type with a special
up arrow symbol to call your attention to the line. Variables which have a low index
(below 90) are shown with a small down arrow at the beginning of the line. |
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Thematic Structure |
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All PERCEPT reports
are grouped around themes. Data can
overwhelm without an adequate context. These themes are designed to provide that
context. For example, one theme is Marital Status. Under this heading, you
will find three sub-themes: the marital status of all persons 15 years of age and older,
the marital status of single females 15 years of age and older and the marital status of
males 15 years of age and older. |
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Additionally, these themes are important for
looking up the definition of either the theme or its sub-theme. A glossary follows this
section. It provides technical definitions for each of them and their sub-themes. The
glossary is alphabetized by theme. Sub-themes fall under their appropriate theme. |
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Comparative Indices |
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What is being compared? |
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If you are not used to encountering
an

index, these can be confusing. The most important thing to understand is that this
number reflects a comparison of two groups. You will also notice that prior to the index
column are two others. The first represents the study area being considered. The second
represents the national average. The Comparative Index is a way of comparing these two
numbers. |
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How are Comparative Indices calculated? |
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An index of 100 in this column indicates that
your area is estimated to be approximately the same as the national average. A value of
150 would indicate that your area is estimated to be 1.5 times the national average. A
value of 50 would indicate that your area is estimated to be only one-half (.5) of the
national average. The index is computed by dividing the value for your area by the U.S.
Average and multiplying the result by 100. For example, if your area is 10% and the
national average is 5%, divide 10 by 5, which results in 2. Then multiply 2 by 100 and you
have the index of 200. |
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Why is a comparison important? |
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For meaningful perceptions to form, we need a
context. It is by comparing one situation to another that the significance of a particular
piece of information emerges. For example, suppose your study area indicates that 38% of
the adults over 15 are single and have never been married. How is one to think about that?
We need to compare it to something. Therefore, PERCEPT also provides the national average.
In this case, the national average is 26.9%. Single, never married is well above the
national average. How much? Well the Comparative Index is 140 which means this study area
is 140% or 1.4 times the national average for persons of this marital status. |
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Comparative indices are not the whole story. The
actual percentages are equally, if not more important. However, they provide an
orientation by allowing you to see how a study areas profile compares to the
national profile. |
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Ethos Indicators |
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What are Ethos Indicators? |
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Information derived

from PERCEPTS Ethos Survey Series is reported as an Indicator.
We use the word indicator to mean a group of variables which taken together provide
an indication of the likely tendencies of a particular group of people regarding some
particular issue or behavior. For example, the Primary Concerns Indicator within an area
profile is a series of 29 issues in which the values for each of the concerns vary from
community to community. When viewed as a whole, the likely concerns of any particular area
are often clumped around various themes. In some communities, the likely prevailing
concerns will consist of things like finding adequate housing and food. In other areas,
they may group around hopes and dreams for the future. It is important to understand the
purpose of the indicators is to create overall impressions. When you analyze the Faith
Involvement Indicator, for instance, you should note that it actually consists of five
different variables: |
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Strongly Involved with Their Faith |
Somewhat Involved with Their Faith |
Not Involved with Their Faith |
Increased Their Involvement with
Their Faith
in the Last 10 Years |
Decreased Their Involvement with
Their Faith
in the Last 10 Years |
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The real value of the indicator is in looking at
these five variables and their possible relationships together as a whole, not as five
separate and independent variables. |
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Also, some of the most powerful impressions in
the Ethos report come from comparing the different indicators with each other. For
example, how do the likely religious affiliation preferences compare with the primary
concerns? How might the faith involvement levels relate to the household contributions? |
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How is the Comparative Index for Ethos
calculated? |
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Ethos indices are calculated in exactly the same
manner as all other Comparative Indices. The study area is divided by the national Ethos
profile. |
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How is the study area percentage
calculated? |
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The study area percentage is computed by first
multiplying the individual U.S. Lifestyles segment average for a particular variable times
the number of households in that segment within the study area. This is repeated for each
segment in the area which results in a total number of households likely to be represented
by that variable. This number is then divided by the total number of households in the
area to calculate the percentage. For example, if the variable to be computed is No Faith
Involvement, the calculation starts with segment 1 in which 37.4% of the households claim
no faith involvement. If there are 100 households in the study area from segment 1,
approximately 37 of them would be estimated to be likely to express no faith involvement.
This calculation is repeated for segments 2 through 50 while keeping a running total of
the number of households likely to have no faith involvement. In the example, if that
number ended up being 2,000 households and the total number of households in the study
area was 5,000, then the No Faith Involvement estimate would be 40%. |
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How should one study a SmartReport? |
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As you analyze values on any PERCEPT report that
includes a Comparative Index it is important to watch for two situations. The first is a
high or low index for some particular variable. This does not mean you should ignore those
items which have an average index (near 100). However, as you seek to capture the
demographic and ethographic essence of a study area, it will probably be those items which vary
significantly from the national average that will provide the most insight. Secondly, as
you are looking for high and low index variables, you should also observe the estimated
percentages. |
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As an example, the likely Eastern Religions
preference index for a particular study area might be 357. This would mean that the area
is likely to have three and a half times the national average for this particular
preference. However, the actual percentage of households estimated to have this preference
might only be 1.8 percent. The reason the index is so high is because the national average
for this preference is a tiny .5 percent. Since you have a high index and a low
percentage, you should note that you have an unusually high likelihood to have persons
with an Eastern religious preference, but that this group is still a fairly small
percentage of the total households in your community. |
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Conversely, you might find that your area has an
index of only 50 for the Catholic/Orthodox preference. However, because the national
average for this preference is almost 22.6 percent, even a low index of 50 would mean that
at least 11% of the households in your area are likely to have this preference. You might
conclude that your area is not dominated by folks with a Catholic/Orthodox preference, but
these households still have a significant presence. |
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We recommend that the first time you review your
reports, you simply scan for the bold items and the lines preceded with a down arrow.
Watch how these variables are grouped. Dont rush into line by line analysis too
quickly until you have allowed yourself the opportunity to absorb the larger impression
this report can create. We believe that the big picture impression you receive
from the entire report may be just as valuable as the insights that come from line by line
analysis. |
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InfoMaps |
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An InfoMap is a full 
color thematic map that portrays selected variables for a study area. InfoMaps are
easy to understand since they are designed to look similar to everyday road maps. They
provide a visual means of communicating demographic information. It is not unusual for you
to make an important discovery from your profile and realize that an additional InfoMap
highlighting and clarifying your discovery would be helpful. Many times the reports will
describe a demographic characteristic of interest such as a large percentage of children
within a 5-mile radius of the church. However, the reports do not specify where within the
5-mile radius the concentrations of children are located. A color InfoMap showing children
by block group quickly clarifies where they are located and in what proportions. |
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InfoGraphs |
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InfoMaps are one 
form of graphic
data presentation. They are organized around geography. Additionally, PERCEPT
presents critical information as statistical graphs. These graphs translate data into
pictures. These pictures often make it easier to grasp the essential learning from a data
set. |
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Some InfoGraphs simply chart data on a particular
study area. A racial/ethnic pie chart illustrates quickly the particular distribution of
racial/ethnic groups within a study area. However, some InfoGraphs are specifically
designed to provide a comparison between a study area and the national average. These
InfoGraphs provide in chart form essentially what Comparative Indices do on a report. |
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PERCEPT has developed a special InfoGraph page
called FingerPrint. FingerPrint always compares specific variables within a study area to
the national average on those same variables. As such it provides a finger
print of a community. |
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© 2007
COPYRIGHT PERCEPT GROUP, INC. |
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