Big Microdata Expansion Project

 研究人员将很快访问世界上最大的个人人口数据库，其中包括20亿条个人记录，描述了1790年至2010年美国人口普查中列举的美国人的特征。这些数据中的大多数已经是数字形式;在NICHD、NIA和NSF的支持下，这些数据正在处理中，不久将以综合格式提供给科学界。该数据系列涵盖了所有被点算的人口，并提供了详细的地理信息。该系列提供了对世界任何地方的长期人口动态的最全面的看法，它们有可能改变我们对人口和经济变化过程的理解。 该提案寻求资金，通过填补系列中的一个重大空白来实现这一潜力。1900年至1930年的数据序列的中间部分缺少关于社会经济和人口特征的关键信息，包括描述生育率、死亡率、婚姻、经济活动、教育、移民和住房的变量。通过与世界上最大的家谱公司合作，现在可以填补这一空白，完成数据系列。数据扩展将为国家的统计基础设施提供永久性和实质性的补充，并将对整个社会和行为科学的健康相关研究产生深远的影响。 该项目涉及：（1）转录58亿克朗的数据，这些数据描述了1900年至1930年美国人口普查中所列所有个人的人口和经济特征;（2）通过随机盲检和与公布的人口普查结果进行比较，评价数据质量;（3）数据清理，包括编辑和估算不一致和缺失的数据值;（4）编制数据词典，将2000万种不同的职业、行业、语言和机构的开放式描述分类为与先前和随后的人口普查数据兼容的数字分类;（5）编制文件，包括数据处理方法的完整描述、可比性问题的详细分析和全面的机器可处理元数据;（6）将额外变量纳入综合公共使用微数据系列（IPUMS）数据访问系统，以便免费向科学界传播;（7）实施安全的数据保护和保存政策。 该项目将由一个经验丰富的研究人员团队执行，他们在大规模数据管理，集成和传播方面具有卓越的能力。明尼苏达州人口中心与全国最大的家谱数据生产商的合作，使稀缺资源的成本效益得到有效利用，为人口和健康研究开发共享基础设施。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Researchers will soon have access to the world's largest individual-level population database, comprising two billion individual records describing the characteristics of Americans enumerated in the U.S. censuses taken between 1790 and 2010. Most of these data are already in digital form; with support from NICHD, NIA, and NSF, they are being processed and will soon be available in an integrated format to the scientific community. The data series covers the entire enumerated population with full geographic detail. The series provide the most comprehensive view of long-run population dynamics available for any place in the world, and they have the potential to transform our understanding of processes of demographic and economic change. This proposal seeks funding to realize this potential by filling a major gap in the series. The midsection of the data series, 1900 to 1930, is missing key information on socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, including variables describing fertility, mortality, marriage, economic activities, education, immigration, and housing. Through collaboration with the world's largest genealogical firm, it is now feasible to fill this gap and complete the data series. The data expansion will make a permanent and substantial addition to the nation's statistical infrastructure and will have far-reaching implications for health-related research across the social and behavioral sciences. The project involves (1) transcription of 5.8 billion keystrokes of data describing demographic and economic characteristics of all individuals enumerated in the United States Census between 1900 and 1930; (2) evaluation of data quality through random blind verification and comparison with published census returns; (3) data cleaning, including editing and imputation of inconsistent and missing data values; (4) development of data dictionaries to classify twenty million different open-ended descriptions of occupations, industries, languages, and institutions into numeric classifications compatible with previous and subsequent census data; (5) preparation of documentation, including full descriptions of data processing methods, detailed analysis of comparability issues, and comprehensive machine-processable metadata; (6) incorporation of the additional variables into the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) data access system for free dissemination to the scientific community; and (7) implementation of secure data protection and preservation policies. The project will be executed by a team of highly-experienced researchers with exceptional proficiency in large-scale data curation, integration, and dissemination. The collaboration of the Minnesota Population Center with the nation's largest producer of genealogical data allows a cost-effective use of scarce resources to develop shared infrastructure for population and health research.