The Public Use Microdata Samples of the U.S. Census: Research Applications and Privacy Issues
Published Date
Publisher
Minnesota Population Center
Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research Census 2000 Advisory Committee
Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research Census 2000 Advisory Committee
Type
Abstract
Keywords
Description
The Census Bureau is considering significant reductions in the level of subject detail for the Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS) of the 2000 Census in order to reassure the public about respondent confidentiality. In particular, the Bureau is considering a plan that would: group ages into five-year categories for persons aged 65 or older and reduce the topcode for age from 90 to 85; reduce the number of ancestry categories from 560 to 105; reduce the Hispanic origin categories from 206 to 23; reduce the number of identified occupational groups from 505 to 67; reduce the number of identified industry groups from 244 to 70; reduce the number of language categories from 393 to 83; eliminate 298 foreign countries of birth and substitute 14 continents and U.S. possessions. To provide feedback to the Census Bureau on the potential impact of these changes on the academic research community, the Minnesota Population Center and the ICPSR Census 2000 Advisory Committee carried out a survey of 1,006 users of the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS). This report summarizes the reaction of researchers to the proposed changes and recommends an alternate strategy to ensure respondent confidentiality
Related to
item.page.replaces
License
Collections
Series/Report Number
Funding Information
item.page.isbn
DOI identifier
Previously Published Citation
Other identifiers
Suggested Citation
Ruggles, Steven; Fitch, Catherine; Sobek, Matthew. (2000). The Public Use Microdata Samples of the U.S. Census: Research Applications and Privacy Issues. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/267907.
Content distributed via the University Digital Conservancy may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor. By using these files, users agree to the Terms of Use. Materials in the UDC may contain content that is disturbing and/or harmful. For more information, please see our statement on harmful content in digital repositories.