As of 2016, 277 anonymized microdata samples from 82 countries are available to researchers and students through the IPUMS-International online data dissemination system (Table 1). Truly global in its coverage, the series includes more than 50 samples each from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. Most participating national statistical agencies have entrusted the country's full series of extant census microdata to the project, facilitating intra-national as well as international trend analysis. Future annual releases will incorporate data from newly participating countries:
BackgroundSocio-economic and demographic determinants of child growth at ages 0–5 years in developing countries are well documented. However, Precision Public Health interventions and population targeting require more finely grained knowledge about the existence and character of temporal changes in child growth associations.MethodsWe evaluated the temporal stability of associations between height-for-age z-score (HAZ) of children aged 0–59 months and child, parental, household, and community and infrastructure factors by following 25 countries over time (1991–2014) in repeated cross-sections of 91 Demographic and Health Surveys using random effect models and Wald tests.ResultsWe found that child growth displayed relatively more time stable associations with child, parental, and household factors than with community and infrastructure factors. Among the unstable associations, there was no uniform geographical pattern in terms of where they consistently increased or decreased over time. There were differences between countries in the extent of temporal instability but there was no apparent regional grouping or geographic pattern. The instability was positively and significantly correlated with annual changes in HAZ.ConclusionsThese findings inform about the generalizability of results stemming from cross-sectional studies that do not consider time variation – results regarding effects of child, parental, and household factors on HAZ do not necessarily need to be re-evaluated over time whereas results regarding the effects of infrastructure and community variables need to be monitored more frequently as they are expected to change. In addition, the study may improve the Precision Public Health population targeting of interventions in different regions and times – whereas the temporal dimension seems to be important for precision targeting of community and infrastructure factors, it is not the case for child, parental, and household factors. In general, the existence of temporal instability and the direction of change varies across countries with no apparent regional pattern.
Educational expansion and the closing of gender gaps in education are key objectives in national and international policy agendas. Monitoring progress towards these goals requires comparable data across countries and over time. The availability of international census and survey microdata allows for cross-national comparisons of education participation and completion. However, we lack systematic analyses of how trends vary across data sources and of the extent to which these data sources offer a consistent account of progress in education. In this paper, we examine coherence in estimates of educational attainment among women aged 25 to 29 in 75 countries across the three main repositories of international population microdata: IPUMS International, the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS). Coherence analysis of 535 census and survey observations from 1960 to 2017 shows high levels of consistency overall but also identifies observations misaligned with trends. Results provide practical information to the research community about the validity of comparative investigations using three important data sources for demographic studies. The data also serve as benchmarks for assessing the quality of education information obtained in data sources not included in our analysis and the trend alignment of future estimates.
IPUMS-International, the world's largest collection of high-precision census data samples, contains individual-level information on 614 million people in 82 countries spanning five decades. The database, built in cooperation with national statistical offices, provides remarkable access to data for educators wishing to expose students to real-world governmental data. Distinct census responses for each person are coded consistently across time and place; documentation is thorough, harmonized and easily accessible; and the web delivery system enables customized data extracts. Individual-level responses mean data can be used in analyses from simple descriptive tables to advanced statistical modeling. Uniform coding means a statistical algorithm developed to answer a question with one sample (country and year), can readily be applied to other samples, inviting students to extend their exploration of social change. Access to the data is free of charge.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.