February 3, 2010: Researchers from SHADAC and the Minnesota Population Center (MPC) were highlighted in the New York Times Freakonomics blog on February 2, 2010. "Can you trust Census data?" by Justin Wolfers, showcased the work of MPC's Trent Alexander and NORC's Mike Davern (who worked on this while he was at SHADAC). The research stems from a discovery that the Census public use microdata samples have errors applied inadvertently due to procedures used for disclosure avoidance.
This particular error impacts studies of people 65 years and older and can have implications for policy analysis of the elderly population group. Read Wolfers' blog for a longer synopsis, or review the working paper for a complete assessment.
Data users should note that this is an example of the type of expertise available through IPUMS at the MPC. A large pool of data users allows IPUMS researchers to identify and document information that might not be otherwise available. SHADAC researchers recommend using this source for data extraction and documentation for Census data products.