Users and Uses of IPUMS International Data

1. Users and Uses of IPUMS International Data Presented by Dr. Miriam King

2. Facts about Users • As of late June, 2005, 934 applicants, 578 approved users (62% approved) • Users drawn from 41 countries • Users drawn from 283 institutions

3. Countries with the largest number of users (in rank order) • United States * • Colombia * * indicates that country’s data • Canada currently available to users • United Kingdom through IPUMS-I • France * • Brazil * Conclusion: Scholars within • Switzerland collaborating countries are • Germany among the largest users of • Mexico * IPUMS-I data. • Spain • Kenya * These 12 countries represent • China * 89 percent of registered users.

4. Geographic Range of Other Users • Europe: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden • Latin America: Argentina, Chile, Panama, Peru, Venezuela • Asia: Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore • Other: Australia, Egypt, Israel, South Africa, Uganda

5. Users’ Disciplines • Economics (39%) • Demography (26%) • Sociology (12%) • Public Policy (6%) • History (4%) • Other (e.g., Geography, Public Health, Political Science) (13%)

6. Users’ Status • Student: 52 percent* • Faculty: 21 percent • Researcher: 17 percent • Non-academic researcher: 8 percent • Support staff: 2 percent *Note: While most student users are grad students, substantial numbers of undergrads have used data for senior theses or in quantitative methods courses.

7. Majority use data from more than one country • 1 country (39 percent) • 2 countries (24 percent) • 3 countries (10 percent) • 4 countries (6 percent) • 5 countries (3 percent) • 6-8 countries (17 percent)

8. Within countries, users represent a large number of institutions • United States (134 institutions) • France (16 institutions) • UK (13 institutions) • Brazil (13 institutions) • Canada (12 institutions) • Germany (8 institutions) • Spain (6 institutions)

9. Most users are from universities; many organizations represented • International organizations (e.g., ILO, WHO, World Bank, Inter-American Development Fund, United Nations) • National statistical agencies (e.g., Brazil, China, Kenya, Colombia, France, Canada, U.S.) • National govt agencies (e.g., Kenyan Ministry of Health, U.S. National Institute on Aging) • Other (e.g., NBER, World Agroforestry Center, International Poverty Center, IIASA)

10. High demand for European data France as an example • Thirty-four percent of users requested French data. • Of users from within France, 65 percent used French data.

11. Some examples of data use • Make broad cross-national comparisons • Compare a phenomenon in two similar countries • Study change over time in one country • Study regional differences within one country • Trace cohorts over time • Check representativeness of survey data against census results • Use in the classroom, student exercises • Analyze immigration via sending and receiving countries’ data • Develop demographic profiles of countries and population subgroups • Empirically test existing theoretical models • Use data to develop new models and methods • Indirectly estimate fertility and mortality

12. Outreach efforts to date • MPC display at academic conferences • Conference presentations • Journal publications • Books and book chapters • Seminars and lectures • Specialized conferences • Announcements to IPUMS-USA users

13. Questions for Conference Participants: • What other types of outreach efforts could and should be made? • What outreach efforts would be especially effective in reaching European scholars and other potential users of European data?