Appendix
Note on Interpolation Process: In order to accurately compare data from both 1990 and 2000 the process of interpolation was used. The maps are based off of 2000 county boundaries, which vary slightly in some cases with the 1990 counties. In order to interpolate my data I first combined my data with the ATOMS_3 file courtesy of Caitlin Sargent. I then computed the Atoms_POPH90 field by setting up the following equation: Atoms_POPH90=TOTPOPH90x(C_POP90/POP900. This provided atom counts for 1990 population data that could then be summed in congruence with 2000 county boundaries. To create this relationship I used the “Summary Statistics” function on the ATOMS_3 file. This equation was the sum of ATOMS_POPH90 and C_POP90 based on the 2000 County boundaries (T2KID). This provided me with at table that estimates the population counts of 1990 atoms within the boundaries of 2000 counties. With this interpolation completed I am able to compute attributes including percentages and rate changes that involve total population and Hispanic population counts for both 1990 and 2000 counties.
Map data collected from U.S. Census Bureau:
U.S. Census Bureau; Census 2000, Summary File 1; generated by Alison Levy; using American FactFinder; <http://factfinder.census.gov>; (March 2009)
U.S. Census Bureau; Census 1990, Summary File 1; generated by Alison Levy; using American FactFinder; <http://factfinder.census.gov>; (March 2009)