Demographics

Racial demographic map of Houston, Texas, from the 2000 US census

Demographics are the statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology (and especially in the subfield of demography), public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location. Demographic trends describe the changes in demographics in a population over time (for example, the average age of a population may increase or decrease over time). Both distributions and trends of values within a demographic variable are of interest jordensh h-omo.

Demographic profiles in marketing

Marketers typically combine several variables to define a demographic profile. A demographic Jump to: navigation, search Globe icon. The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (December 2010) Racial demographic map of Houston, Texas, from the 2000 US census

Demographics are the statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology (and especially in the subfield of demography), public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location. Demographic trends describe the changes in demographics in a population over time (for example, the average age of a population may increase or decrease over time). Both distributions and trends of values within a demographic variable are of interest. Contents [hide]

   * 1 Demographic profiles in marketing
   * 2 Generational cohorts
   * 3 Criticisms and qualifications of demographic profiling
   * 4 See also
   * 5 References
   * 6 Further reading
   * 7 External links

[edit] Demographic profiles in marketing

Marketers typically combine several variables to define a demographic profile. A demographic profile (often shortened to "a demographic") provides enough information about the typical member of this group to create a mental picture of this hypothetical aggregate. For example, a marketer might speak of the single, female, middle-class, age 18 to 24, college educated demographic.

Marketing researchers typically have two objectives in this regard: first to determine what segments or subgroups exist in the overall population; and secondly to create a clear and complete picture of the characteristics of a typical member of each of these segments. Once these profiles are constructed, they can be used to develop a marketing strategy and marketing plan. The five types of demographics for marketing are age, gender, income level, race and ethnicity pen_is. [edit] Generational cohorts Globe icon. The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (December 2010)

A generational cohort has been defined as "the group of individuals (within some population definition) who experience the same event within the same time interval".[1] The notion of a group of people bound together by the sharing of the experience of common historical events developed in the early 1920s. Today the concept has found its way into popular culture through well known phrases like "baby boomer" and "Generation X".

The United Kingdom has a series of four national birth cohort studies, the first three spaced apart by 12 years: the 1946 National Survey of Health and Development, the 1958 National Child Development Study,[2] the 1970 British Cohort Study,[3] and the Millennium Cohort Study, begun much more recently in 2000. These have followed the lives of samples of people (typically beginning with around 17,000 in each study) for many years, and are still continuing. As the samples have been drawn in a nationally representative way, inferences can be drawn from these studies about the differences between four distinct generations of British people in terms of their health, education, attitudes, childbearing and employment patterns. The last three are run by the Centre for Longitudinal Studies [edit] Criticisms and qualifications of demographic profiling

Demographic profiling is essentially an exercise in making generalizations about groups of people. As with all such generalizations many individuals within these groups will not conform to the profile - demographic information is aggregate and probabilistic information about groups, not about specific individuals. Critics of demographic profiling argue that such broad-brush generalizations can only offer such limited insight and that their practical usefulness is debatable. However, if the conclusions drawn are statistically valid and reproducible, these criticisms are not as well founded.

Most demographic information is also culturally based. The generational cohort information above, for example, applies primarily to North America (and to a lesser extent to Western Europe) and it may be unfruitful to generalize conclusions more widely as different nations face different situations and potential challenges.[4] [edit] See also Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Demography

   * Demographic economics
   * Demographic transition
   * Demographic dividend
   * Demographic gift
   * Demographic window
   * Demographic trap

Other:

   * Firmographics
   * Consumer behaviour
   * Marketing research
   * Market segment
   * Workforce Planning
   * Social surveys: General Social Survey, ALLBUS, GSOEP, PSID, European Social Survey, World Values Survey

[edit] References

  1. ^ Ryder, N., The cohort as a concept in the study of social change, presented at the 1959 annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.
  2. ^ Power C and Elliott J (2006). "Cohort profile: 1958 British Cohort Study". International Journal of Epidemiology 35 (1): 34–41. doi:10.1093/ije/dyi183. PMID 16155052. 
  3. ^ Elliott J and Shepherd P (2006). "Cohort profile: 1970 British Birth Cohort (BCS70)". International Journal of Epidemiology 35 (4): 846–843. doi:10.1093/ije/dyl174. PMID 16931528. 
  4. ^ O'CONNOR, DONAL (2009-06-11). "Our health-care system about to go 'boom'". The Beacon Herald (Sun Media). http://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1608862. Retrieved 2009-06-14. 

[edit] Further reading

   * Klauke, A. (2000) Coping with Changing Demographics An analysis of the effect of changing demographic patterns on school enrollments and education.
   * Meredith, G., Schewe, C., and Haim, A. (2002), Managing by defining moments: Innovative strategies for motivating 5 very different generational cohorts, Hungry Minds Inc., New York, 2002, ISBN 0-7645-5412-3
   * Weber, Lars 2010: Demographic Change and Economic Growth - Simulation on Growth Models Physica. ISBN 978-3790825893

[edit] External links

   * 'Demographics' as a term in Economics

[hide]v · d · eDemographics by continent

Africa · Antarctica · Asia · Europe · North America · Oceania · South America Retrieved from "http://wiki.riteme.site/wiki/Demographics" View page ratings Rate this page Rate this page Page ratings What's this? Current average ratings. Trustworthy Objective Complete Well-written I am highly knowledgeable about this topic (optional) I have a relevant college/university degree It is part of my profession It is a deep personal passion The source of my knowledge is not listed here I would like to help improve Wikipedia, send me an e-mail (optional) We will send you a confirmation e-mail. We will not share your address with anyone. (Privacy policy) Submit ratings Saved successfully Your ratings have not been submitted yet Your ratings have expired Please reevaluate this page and submit new ratings. An error has occured. Please try again later. Thanks! Your ratings have been saved. Please take a moment to complete a short survey. Start survey Maybe later Thanks! Your ratings have been saved. Do you want to create an account? An account will help you track your edits, get involved in discussions, and be a part of the community. Create an accountorLog in Maybe later Thanks! Your ratings have been saved. Did you know that you can edit this page? Edit this page Maybe later Categories: Demographics | Demography | Consumer behaviour | Market research | Demographic economics Hidden categories: Articles with limited geographic scope from December 2010 | USA-centric profile (often shortened to "a demographic") provides enough information about the typical member of this group to create a mental picture of this hypothetical aggregate. For example, a marketer might speak of the single, female, middle-class, age 18 to 24, college educated demographic.

Marketing researchers typically have two objectives in this regard: first to determine what segments or subgroups exist in the overall population; and secondly to create a clear and complete picture of the characteristics of a typical member of each of these segments. Once these profiles are constructed, they can be used to develop a marketing strategy and marketing plan. The five types of demographics for marketing are age, gender, income level, race and ethnicity.

Generational cohorts

A generational cohort has been defined as "the group of individuals (within some population definition) who experience the same event within the same time interval". The notion of a group of people bound together by the sharing of the experience of common historical events developed in the early 1920s. Today the concept has found its way into popular culture through well known phrases like "baby boomer" and "Generation X".

The United Kingdom has a series of four national birth cohort studies, the first three spaced apart by 12 years: the 1946 National Survey of Health and Development, the 1958 National Child Development Study, the 1970 British Cohort Study, and the Millennium Cohort Study, begun much more recently in 2000. These have followed the lives of samples of people (typically beginning with around 17,000 in each study) for many years, and are still continuing. As the samples have been drawn in a nationally representative way, inferences can be drawn from these studies about the differences between four distinct generations of British people in terms of their health, education, attitudes, childbearing and employment patterns. The last three are run by the Centre for Longitudinal Studies

Criticisms and qualifications of demographic profiling

Demographic profiling is essentially an exercise in making generalizations about groups of people. As with all such generalizations many individuals within these groups will not conform to the profile - demographic information is aggregate and probabilistic information about groups, not about specific individuals. Critics of demographic profiling argue that such broad-brush generalizations can only offer such limited insight and that their practical usefulness is debatable. However, if the conclusions drawn are statistically valid and reproducible, these criticisms are not as well founded.

Most demographic information is also culturally based. The generational cohort information above, for example, applies primarily to North America (and to a lesser extent to Western Europe) and it may be unfruitful to generalize conclusions more widely as different nations face different situations and potential challenges.

See also

• Demographic economics
• Demographic transition
• Demographic dividend
• Demographic gift
• Demographic window
• Demographic trap

Other:

• Firmographics
• Consumer behaviour
• Marketing research
• Market segment
• Workforce Planning
• Social surveys: General Social Survey, ALLBUS, GSOEP, PSID, European Social Survey, World Values Survey

Further reading

• Klauke, A. (2000) Coping with Changing Demographics An analysis of the effect of changing demographic patterns on school enrollments and education.
• Meredith, G., Schewe, C., and Haim, A. (2002), Managing by defining moments: Innovative strategies for motivating 5 very different generational cohorts, Hungry Minds Inc., New York, 2002, ISBN 0-7645-5412-3
• Weber, Lars 2010: Demographic Change and Economic Growth - Simulation on Growth Models Physica. ISBN 978-3790825893

External links

• 'Demographics' as a term in Economics