2018 Impact Summit

Finding appropriate census and survey data for comparative analysis across space and time can be a difficult and time-consuming process. IPUMS, part of the University of Minnesota’s Institute for Social Research and Data Innovation, greatly simplifies this process. We harmonize variables across time and space, provide comprehensive documentation, and disseminate the data, free of charge, through web-based access systems. This workshop will describe our rich collection of census and survey data, discuss our harmonization process, and provide hands-on experience navigating, acquiring, and analyzing data from two of our flagship products – IPUMS USA and IPUMS NHGIS. IPUMS USA contains almost a billion microdata records, detailing the complete responses from individuals and households for U.S. censuses and surveys from 1790 to the present. Individual-level detail in the microdata allows analysts to create highly-customized indicators. IPUMS NHGIS provides access to small-area census and survey data and associated mapping files. The fine-grained spatial resolution allows analysts to create indicators for specific neighborhoods or regions. NHGIS time series link comparable data together across time, making it easier to measure changes in community characteristics. If you need demographic and socioeconomic data for your community indicator projects, this workshop is for you!