Repository files navigation

ipumsr provides an R interface for handlingIPUMS data, allowing users to:

• Easily read files downloaded from the IPUMS extract system

• Request data, download files, and get metadata from certain IPUMScollections

• Interpret and process data using the contextual information that isincluded with many IPUMS files

To install the package from CRAN, use

install.packages("ipumsr")

To install the development version of the package, use

remotes::install_github("ipums/ipumsr")

IPUMS is the world’s largest publicly availablepopulation database, providing census and survey data from around theworld integrated across time and space. IPUMS integration anddocumentation make it easy to study change, conduct comparativeresearch, merge information across data types, and analyze individualswithin family and community context. Data and services are availablefree of charge.

IPUMS consists of multiple projects, orcollections, that providedifferent data products.

• Microdata projects distribute data for individual survey units,like people or households.
• Aggregate data projects distribute summary tables of aggregatestatistics for particular geographic units along with correspondingGIS mapping files.

ipumsr supports different levels of functionality for each IPUMSproject, as summarized in the table below.

		Data Type	Description	Read Data Extracts	Request & Download Data	Browse Metadata
	IPUMS USA	Microdata	U.S. Census and American Community Survey microdata (1850-present)
	IPUMS CPS	Microdata	Current Population Survey microdata including basic monthly surveys andsupplements (1962-present)
	IPUMSInternational	Microdata	Census microdata covering over 100 countries, contemporary andhistorical
	IPUMS NHGIS	Aggregate Data	Tabular U.S. Census data and GIS mapping files (1790-present)
	IPUMS IHGIS	Aggregate Data	Tabular and GIS data from population, housing, and agricultural censusesaround the world
	IPUMS Time Use	Microdata	Time use microdata from the U.S. (1930-present) and thirteen othercountries (1965-present)
	IPUMS Health Surveys	Microdata	Microdata from the U.S.NationalHealth Interview Survey (NHIS) (1963-present) andMedical Expenditure Panel Survey(MEPS) (1996-present)
	IPUMS Global Health	Microdata	Health survey microdata for low- and middle-income countries, includingharmonized data collections forDemographic and Health Surveys(DHS) andPerformance Monitoringfor Action (PMA) surveys
	IPUMS Higher Ed	Microdata	Survey microdata on the science and engineering workforce in the U.S.from 1993 to 2013

ipumsr uses theIPUMS API to submit datarequests, download data extracts, and get metadata, so the scope offunctionality generally corresponds to thatavailable via theAPI. As the IPUMSteam extends the API to support more functionality for more projects, weaim to extend ipumsr capabilities accordingly.

If you’re new to IPUMS data, learn more about what’s available throughtheIPUMS Projects Overview. Then, seevignette("ipums") for an overview of how to obtain IPUMS data.

The package vignettes are the best place to explore what ipumsr has tooffer:

• To read IPUMS data extracts into R, seevignette("ipums-read").

• To interact with the IPUMS extract and metadata system via the IPUMSAPI, seevignette("ipums-api").

• For additional details about microdata and aggregate data extractrequests, seevignette("ipums-api-micro") andvignette("ipums-api-agg").

• To work with labelled values in IPUMS data, seevignette("value-labels").

• For techniques for working with large data extracts, seevignette("ipums-bigdata").

TheIPUMS support website also housesmany project-specific R-basedtrainingexercises. However, note thatsome of these exercises may not be be up to date with ipumsr’s currentfunctionality.

• Thesurvey andsrvyr packages can help youincorporate IPUMS survey weights into your analysis for various surveydesigns.

• Seehaven for moreinformation about value labels and labelled vectors

• hipread underlies the hierarchicalfile reading functions in ipumsr

We greatly appreciate feedback and development contributions. Pleasesubmit any bug reports, pull requests, or other suggestions onGitHub. Before contributing,please be sure to read theContributingGuidelines and theCode of Conduct.

If you have general questions or concerns about IPUMS data, check outouruser forum or send an email toipums@umn.edu.