IPUMS
Encyclopedia
Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) is the world's largest individual-level population database. IPUMS consists of microdata
samples from United States
(IPUMS-USA) and international (IPUMS-International) census
records. The records are converted into a consistent format and made available to researchers through a web-based data dissemination system.
IPUMS is housed at the Minnesota Population Center
, an interdisciplinary research center at the University of Minnesota
, under the direction of Professor Steven Ruggles
.
IPUMS-USA draws on every surviving United States census
from 1850 to 2000 (with the exception of 1890 census, which was destroyed in a fire) and from the American Community Survey
of 2000-2009. During certain years, IPUMS-USA also makes available over-samples of African-Americans, Alaskans, American Indians, Hawaiians, and Hispanics. The IPUMS provides consistent variable names, coding schemes, and documentation across all the samples, facilitating the analysis of long-term change.
IPUMS-International includes countries from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America for 1960 forward. The database currently includes 159 samples from 55 countries around the world. IPUMS-International converts census microdata for multiple countries into a consistent format, allowing for comparisons across countries and time periods. Special efforts are made to simplify use of the data while losing no meaningful information. Comprehensive documentation is provided in a coherent form to facilitate comparative analyses of social and economic change.
Additional databases in the IPUMS family include: (1) the North Atlantic Population Project
(NAPP), (2) the National Historical Geographic Information System
(NHGIS), (3) the Integrated Health Interview Series (IHIS), and (4) the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series-Current Population Survey (IPUMS-CPS).
The Journal of American History described the effort as "One of the great archival projects of the past two decades." The official motto of IPUMS is "use it for good, never for evil." All IPUMS data and documentation are available online free of charge.
Microdata (statistics)
In the study of survey and census data, microdata is information at the level of individual respondents. For instance, a national census might collect age, home address, educational level, employment status, and many other variables, recorded separately for every person who responds; this is...
samples from United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(IPUMS-USA) and international (IPUMS-International) census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
records. The records are converted into a consistent format and made available to researchers through a web-based data dissemination system.
IPUMS is housed at the Minnesota Population Center
Minnesota Population Center
The Minnesota Population Center is a university-wide interdisciplinary research center at the University of Minnesota. MPC was established in 2000, absorbing two earlier population research organizations...
, an interdisciplinary research center at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, under the direction of Professor Steven Ruggles
Steven Ruggles
Steven Ruggles is Regents Professor Professor of History and Population Studies at the University of Minnesota, and the Director of the Minnesota Population Center....
.
IPUMS-USA draws on every surviving United States census
United States Census
The United States Census is a decennial census mandated by the United States Constitution. The population is enumerated every 10 years and the results are used to allocate Congressional seats , electoral votes, and government program funding. The United States Census Bureau The United States Census...
from 1850 to 2000 (with the exception of 1890 census, which was destroyed in a fire) and from the American Community Survey
American Community Survey
The American Community Survey is an ongoing statistical survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, sent to approximately 250,000 addresses monthly . It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census...
of 2000-2009. During certain years, IPUMS-USA also makes available over-samples of African-Americans, Alaskans, American Indians, Hawaiians, and Hispanics. The IPUMS provides consistent variable names, coding schemes, and documentation across all the samples, facilitating the analysis of long-term change.
IPUMS-International includes countries from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America for 1960 forward. The database currently includes 159 samples from 55 countries around the world. IPUMS-International converts census microdata for multiple countries into a consistent format, allowing for comparisons across countries and time periods. Special efforts are made to simplify use of the data while losing no meaningful information. Comprehensive documentation is provided in a coherent form to facilitate comparative analyses of social and economic change.
Additional databases in the IPUMS family include: (1) the North Atlantic Population Project
North Atlantic Population Project
The North Atlantic Population Project is a collaboration of historical demographers in Britain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden to produce a massive census microdata collection for the North Atlantic Region in the late-nineteenth century...
(NAPP), (2) the National Historical Geographic Information System
National Historical Geographic Information System
The National Historical Geographic Information System is a historical GIS project to create and freely disseminate a database incorporating all available aggregate census information for the United States between 1790 and 2000...
(NHGIS), (3) the Integrated Health Interview Series (IHIS), and (4) the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series-Current Population Survey (IPUMS-CPS).
The Journal of American History described the effort as "One of the great archival projects of the past two decades." The official motto of IPUMS is "use it for good, never for evil." All IPUMS data and documentation are available online free of charge.