mpcblog – Page 17 – Use It for Good

Researchers Study How Context Affects Health with New IPUMS DHS Variables

December 18, 2019December 21, 2017 by mpcblog

Are you interested in how environmental or social contexts affect women’s and children’s health and behavior? IPUMS-DHS now makes it easy to investigate such questions. Using GPS coordinates, we’ve linked contextual variables drawn from many data sources directly to individual DHS respondent records. All context variables describe the features of a small geographic area (5-10 kilometers) surrounding each DHS cluster location.

By doing the technical stuff for you, we’ve freed you up to focus on your important substantive questions—like how climate change influences human health and survival. Our innovation eliminates the need for you to buy or learn geographic software. Even if you’re an ARCGIS whiz, the new IPUMS DHS’ linked data will make your research process simpler and faster.

What new data are available?

IPUMS FAQs: How can I merge my IPUMS CPS file with an NBER CPS file?

December 7, 2017 by mpcblog

At IPUMS we try to address every user’s questions and suggestions about our data. It is just one feature that adds value to IPUMS data. Over time, many questions are often repeated. In this blog series, we will be sharing some of these frequently asked questions. Maybe you’ll learn something, or perhaps you’ll just find these interesting. Regardless, we hope you enjoy.

Here’s one of those questions:

How can I merge my IPUMS CPS file with an NBER CPS file?

IPUMS FAQs: How do I link basic monthly samples with the ASEC sample?

November 29, 2017 by mpcblog

Here’s one of those questions:

How do I link basic monthly samples with the ASEC sample?

Challenges in Mapping the Past: the Example of Administrative Boundaries in Nicaragua in 1971

November 16, 2017November 16, 2017 by mpcblog

Boundaries change frequently, and one has to account for that when comparing data across time. This blog post explains how IPUMS-I approaches the task of mapping historical boundaries.

Overview

IPUMS International disseminates census microdata for Nicaragua in 1971, 1995 & 2005.
Data are available for departments (primary administrative unit) and municipalities (second administrative unit).
Boundary maps from the most recent census are readily available, but older maps like those from the 1971 need to be constructed. Due to numerous boundary changes, it is not always possible to recreate older administrative divisions based on the most current map—sometimes we have to look further in the past.

According to the 1971 Census of Nicaragua, the country was divided at that time into 127 municipalities. However, there was no map for 1971 and the maps available for 1995 and 2005 showed 145 and 154 municipalities, respectively—not 127, as in 1971. We had to identify what changes had occurred in the administrative division of Nicaragua during the 1971 to 1995 period and recreate a map that matched the 1971 census microdata.

IPUMS FAQs: Why is the 2014 sample twice as large as the total population?

November 9, 2017November 9, 2017 by mpcblog

Here’s one of those questions:

Why is the 2014 sample twice as large as the total population?

Dissemination Through Swag

November 8, 2017November 1, 2017 by mpcblog

Swag: slang for free merchandise distributed as part of the promotion of a product, company, etc.

Promotional merchandising of census data products has been in use in the United States since the first decennial census of population. Don’t you wish you had one of these?!

The Minnesota Population Center has distributed swag in a variety of contexts to promote its products and reward data users.

IPUMS FAQs: Sample Weights

October 26, 2017 by mpcblog

At IPUMS we try to address every user’s questions and suggestions about our data. It is just one feature that adds value to IPUMS data. Over time, many questions are often repeated. In a new blog series, we will be sharing some of these frequently asked questions. Maybe you’ll learn something, or perhaps you’ll just find these interesting. Regardless, we hope you enjoy.

Here’s one of those questions:

What are sample weights? And do I need to use them?