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Census
Data
Economic Data | Demographic
Data | Combining Data
Research Opportunities
The Research Data Centers provide restricted access to non-public Census
Bureau data in a secure laboratory. Because of disclosure risks and the
costs and procedural requirements associated with operating an RDC, access is
restricted to projects emphasizing model estimation and requiring use of
non-public Census Bureau data. Projects
that can be completed with public use data are not appropriate for the RDCs. In
addition, the RDCs are not appropriate for research
projects whose output consists primarily of tabulations of data.
A wide range of data collected by the Bureau of the
Census are potentially available for research projects at the CCRDC. For a list of datasets currently
available for use at the RDCs, please see the CES Data page.
Economic Data: Firms and Establishments
Data from many censuses and surveys of business establishments and firms are
available for use in research projects. Microdata
from these studies are almost never released as public use data files; the
RDC program provides access to these data sets for researchers with approved
projects.
Demographic Data: Households and
Individuals
In addition to the decennial Census of Population and Housing, the Census
Bureau regularly collects information through a
number of surveys of households and individuals. Most of these datasets are released as
public use files, but the versions in the RDC are NOT the public-use
versions. These internal RDC
versions include more complete geography (in many cases down to the
block). Also, items such as
income are not topcoded. PLEASE NOTE: individual identifiers such as name,
address, and social security numbers are NOT included. In many cases, the additional
information in these files allows researchers to perform innovative research.
The following are typical reasons that researchers want to access internal
versions of Census Bureau data sets:
- Geographic
precision Microdata made avaialble for public use from the demographic
censuses and surveys generally code geography for areas with a minimum
population of 100,000 persons. This limits study of the effects of small
area characteristics. researchers with approved
projects at an RDC can access detailed geographic codes from the
internal microdata files. An important
advantage is the ability to link to data on individuals more detailed
"contextual" characteristics of the areas in which they live.
- Examination of
recoded variables In order to minimize disclosure risks, public use microdata files often contain topcoded,
bracketed or otherwise recoded variables. These recodes sometimes mask
variation or make model specification difficult. Again, approved
projects at an RDC can access internal microdata
files that contain the variable values prior to recoding.
- Studies of small
populations While the Public Use Microdata
Samples from the decennial censuses generally provide samples large enough
for most research, some populations of interest are exceptionally small.
Larger samples can be generated from use of complete decennial censuses,
including the 1 in 6 long form data.
Note: Use of these data files may result in significant disclosure risks.
This is especially true for studies of small populations (even with the
increased sample sizes that may be available), and even more if the project
studies small populations classified by geography and by population
characteristics such as age, race, or sex. Moreover, the addition of
contextual data also may increase disclosure risks. Researchers should keep
these risks in mind in writing their proposals. To reduce the disclosure
risks, proposed research projects should emphasize models, not tabulations.
Combining Economic and Demographic Data
Projects at the RDCs have combined economic and
demographic data or matched demographic data from different surveys and censuses
based on geographic identifiers.
Combining Census Bureau Data with Non-Census Bureau Data
Researchers with outside data such as administrative records may seek to
enrich the information available to them by linking their data with Census
Bureau data files. The CCRDC supports this kind of data development and
innovation. However, such projects are subject to additional scrutiny and the
review process will require significantly more time because it is necessary
to assess carefully possible disclosure risks, to obtain any permissions
required to use the outside data and link the data sets, and to assess the
costs and feasibility of data set construction. Projects requesting outside
administrative records can expect to pay extra fees to reimburse the Center
for Economics Studies and the Census Bureau for the extra work required for
such projects.
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