Project Descriptions

IPUMS USA: IPUMS USA is a harmonized dataset of individual-level samples of the U.S. censuses from 1850-2010, and the American Community Survey from 2000 onwards. The dataset includes basic demographic data (age, race, sex, marital status, and relationship to the head of household), along with economic data (occupation, industry, income, work status, education, migration, place of work, type of housing, disability / veteran status, household appliances, and housing characteristics).

Recent work using IPUMS USA has looked at sex-based income differentials, housing security based on geographic location, family formation patterns, employment outcomes for women and migrants, and intergenerational economic mobility. For additional papers published using IPUMS USA data, see: our IPUMS USA publication list.

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IPUMS CPS: IPUMS CPS is a harmonized set of individual-level data and documentation from 1962 to the present. The CPS is a monthly U.S. household survey conducted jointly by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In addition to the many of the variables included in the IPUMS USA data (race and ethnicity, education, income, occupation, industry, migration, disability, and veteran status), the IPUMS CPS includes additional information on participation in welfare programs, job searching, barriers to looking for work, general health, union membership, hourly wages, health insurance, and tax liability. In addition, the IPUMS CPS includes supplemental information for certain years on computer and Internet use, displaced workers, fertility, food security, job tenure, tobacco use, volunteer activities, voter registration, and work schedules.

Recent research that has used IPUMS CPS data has covered a variety of topics, including: fertility, domestic homicides and gun control, minimum wages, women and self-employment, measured productivity in the agriculture industry, economic opportunities for refugees, family formation patterns and economic opportunity. For additional information on publications using IPUMS CPS data, please see our IPUMS CPS publication list.

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IPUMS International: With 610 million records, spanning over 100 countries, IPUMS International is the world's largest collection of publicly available individual-level census data. The data are anonymized samples from population censuses taken from around the world since 1960. Most census data samples contain basic demographic information, along with additional information on religion, occupation, industry, income, work status, education, type of housing, disability status, and household characteristics. In addition, supplemental information is available for some countries that includes fertility data, migration data, mortality data, and GIS boundary files.

IPUMS International paper topics include: the impact of internal displacement on receiving communities, migration and social inequality in Europe, the link between climate change and reproductive health, and the relationship between single motherhood and educational outcomes for children in Vietnam. For more publications using IPUMS-International data, see our IPUMS International publication list.

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IPUMS DHS: This project is designed to help researchers conduct comparative studies of world health trends. The data comes from nationally representative health surveys carried out in low resource countries beginning in the 1980s with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Names and high-resolution geographic information are not included to protect the confidentiality of respondents. The IDHS variables have been given consistent codes and have been documented to facilitate cross-country and cross-time comparisons. The current version of IDHS focuses on women respondents of childbearing age, and covers a variety of topics including family planning, child health and survival, domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, nutrition and health care from over 90 poor and middle income countries.

Recent topics covered by this new initiative include the impact of disability benefits on labor supply among U.S. veterans, using household data to determine who received reproductive and maternal health services, and to link climate change to reproductive health outcomes. For a complete list of papers, see our IDHS publication list.

IPUMS MICS facilitates research on the health and wellbeing of children and women around the world. The data are from the nationally representative Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) implemented by countries under the program developed by UNICEF since the 1990s. The surveys collect information from households with an emphasis on women of childbearing age, men of similar ages, children age 0-4, and children age 5-17. PUMS MICS currently provides variables that have been consistently coded across countries and years for over 80 countries.

Harmonized MICS data enhance researchers’ ability to study reproductive health, postnatal care, sexual behavior, disability, life satisfaction, HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, child development and education, parental involvement, and many others.

IPUMS PMA: IPUMS PMA is a harmonized version of the Performance Monitoring for Action (formerly known as Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020), which is a high-frequency survey on family planning, water, sanitation, and health.  The samples are based on surveys of women of childbearing age and health service delivery points, such as hospitals or pharmacies, and include longitudinal panels of these units of analysis.  The PMA surveys are conducted in 11 countries in Africa and Asia from 2013 to the present and are nationally representative for most samples.   PMA also collects data on additional topic modules such as maternal and newborn health, nutrition, and abortion.  The PMA team is associated with the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, and funding for data collection and for IPUMS PMA is provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  IPUMS PMA variables have been consistently named and coded across countries and years.

Harmonized PMA surveys provide an opportunity for researchers to investigate topics such as unmet need for family planning, fertility, menstrual hygiene, abortion, maternal and newborn health, nutrition, contraception supply, migration, water supply, and many other topics.

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IPUMS NHGIS: The National Historical Geographic Information System provides free online access to GIS-compatible boundary files and aggregate census data for the United States between 1790 and 2014. The NHGIS time series tables link together comparable statistics from multiple U.S. censuses, using standardized categories and geographic codes for all years. The data includes, state and county aggregate data and boundary files, census data at all geographic summary levels (including census blocks), boundary files for metropolitan statistical areas, boundary files for all standard geographic summary levels, and county business patterns data.

NHGIS publications have dealt with topics like state-by-state comparisons of health outcomes, the implications of economic growth on surrounding areas, city location and economic development, gentrification and displacement, and the relationship between hate crimes and terrorism. For a complete list of publications, please see our NHGIS publication list.

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IPUMS IHGIS: The IPUMS International Historical Geographic Information System (IHGIS) provides data tables from population and housing censuses as well as agricultural censuses from around the world, along with corresponding GIS boundary files.

Topics covered in IHGIS data include demographics, education, employment, housing characteristics, and migration as well as agricultural land ownership, agricultural workforce, livestock, and crops.

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IPUMS TERRA: The Terra Populus dataset is designed to preserve, integrate, disseminate and analyze global-scale spatiotemporal data describing population-environment interaction. The dataset includes population microdata, government land-use statistics, land cover data from satellite imagery, and climate data.

Publications using TerraPop data have looked at a series of human-environment interactions, including: climate change and socioeconomic vulnerability, spatial demography, disability and earning potential in China, social networks and migration. For a complete list of publications using TerraPop data, see the TerraPop publication list.

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IPUMS Time Use: The American Time Use Survey (ATUS) is a longitudinal time diary survey funded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and fielded by the Census Bureau. ATUS respondents are a nationally representative sample of individuals aged 15 or older, drawn from households who have concluded their participation in the Current Population Survey (CPS). Data for 14,000 respondents has been collected yearly since 2003 – and respondents reported on daily activities, including what they were doing, where they were, and who was with them. In addition to time diaries, the survey data includes demographic, socioeconomic and household level information.

Publications using the IPUMS-Time Use survey have analyzed fathers' time with children, men's involvement in household responsibilities , occupational crowding, marital status and mothers' time use, and health behaviors. For specific information on papers published using IPUMS-Time Use survey data, please see our online publication lists for ATUS, AHTUS, and MTUS.

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IPUMS Health Surveys: IHIS is a harmonized set of data covering more than 50 years of the National Health Interview Survey. The survey covers an average of 100,000 individuals from 45,000 households across the United States. The dataset includes information on general health and health functioning, including: acute and chronic illness, functional disability, access to and use of medical services, insurance coverage, and health behaviors like exercise, diet, tobacco, and alcohol consumption. In addition, the survey contains information on food security, mortality, injury, AIDS and cancer screening, immunization, epilepsy, and household data like Internet access and email usage, imputed income, complementary / alternative medicine, and mental health treatment for children.

Studies that have used NHIS data have covered a variety of topics, including: educational attainment and mortality, health disparities, health behaviors in minority populations, the relationship between insurance coverage and psychological distress among individuals with chronic disability, and the health and nutritional effects of SNAP enrollment. For a more complete list of publications, please visit our NHIS publication list.

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IPUMS Higher Ed: IPUMS Higher Ed is composed of three National Science Foundation surveys of college degree holders in the United States: the National Survey of College Graduates, the Survey of Doctorate Recipients, and the National Survey of Recent College Graduates. Only the respondents who have a degree in science or engineering (or related fields) or work in a science or engineering occupation are included in the SESTAT file for that year. The first version of IPUMS Higher Ed website will provide integrated SESTAT and SDR files from 1993 to 2013.

IPUMS Higher Ed surveys collect data on: education history, labor force status, employer and academic institution characteristics, income, and work activities. SESTAT data has been used previously in studies on gender differences in the labor force and in patent activity.

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