User guide
Understanding your results
The results compare the demographic composition of your uploaded survey sample with American Community Survey estimates for the selected geography.
What the tables show
Sample count
The number of respondents in a demographic category.
Sample percentage
The share of valid survey responses in that category.
Population percentage
The corresponding ACS estimate for the selected geography.
Difference or score
How closely the sample share aligns with the population benchmark.
Overrepresentation and underrepresentation
A group is underrepresented when its share in the sample is lower than its estimated share in the target population. It is overrepresented when its sample share is higher.
Example
If a group accounts for 30% of the selected county population but 12% of valid survey respondents, the sample underrepresents that group by 18 percentage points.
How to interpret the score
The representativeness score summarizes alignment between observed sample proportions and ACS population proportions. Better alignment indicates that the sample composition is closer to the selected population benchmark. The score is descriptive; it does not prove that the sample is unbiased or that study conclusions are generalizable.
Interpret with context
Consider sample size, recruitment strategy, response rate, missing demographic data, address match coverage, and the study’s intended population before drawing conclusions.
Questions to ask
- Which groups are most underrepresented or overrepresented?
- Are differences large enough to affect interpretation of the survey findings?
- Could recruitment methods explain the observed pattern?
- Are many records missing demographic or geographic information?
- Would targeted recruitment, weighting, or a limitation statement be appropriate?
What the results do not establish
Demographic alignment does not measure every form of sampling bias. Two samples with similar demographic distributions may still differ in political participation, technology access, lived experience, language, disability, or other characteristics not included in the comparison.