Abstract
The first version of the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) was released to users in 1993, and since that time IPUMS has come to stand for interoperable and accessible census and survey data. Initially created to harmonize U.S. census microdata over time, IPUMS now includes microdata from the U.S. and international censuses and from surveys on health, employment, and other topics. IPUMS also provides geo-spatial data, aggregate population data, and environmental data. IPUMS supports ten data products, each disseminating an integrated data collection with a set of tools that make complex data easy to find, access, and use. Key features are record-level integration to create interoperable datasets, user-friendly interfaces, and comprehensive metadata and documentation. The IPUMS philosophy aligns closely with the FAIR principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and re-usability. IPUMS data have catalyzed knowledge generation across a wide range of social science and other disciplines, as evidenced by the large volume of publications and other products created by the vast IPUMS user community.
Highlights
Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) provides census and survey data from around the world integrated across time and space
The first release of IPUMS data in 1993 predates the FAIR guiding principles, the IPUMS philosophy has always been consistent with the principles of Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Re-usability[12]
Integrated public use microdata series goals and values IPUMS originally stood for Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, and the components of that name represent the goals and values of the IPUMS organization
Summary
IPUMS provides census and survey data from around the world integrated across time and space. IPUMS integration and documentation makes it easy for researchers to study change, conduct comparative research, merge information across data types, and analyze individuals within family and community context. Microdata are the individual responses to a census or survey, with each record containing responses to all questions for one particular person. A key feature is that these individual records are organized into households, capturing relationships among household members and often additional information about the housing unit. These data are enormously flexible and powerful, but are often not readily compatible across censuses from different times and places due to differences in record structure, questions asked, and possible responses
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