A rapidly growing number of algorithms are available to researchers who apply statistical or machine learning methods to answer social science research questions. The unique advantages and limitations of each algorithm are relatively well known, but it is not possible to know in advance which algorithm is best suited for the particular research…

Measuring race and ethnicity for administrative data sets and then analyzing these data to understand racial/ethnic disparities present many logistical and theoretical challenges. In this chapter, we conduct a synthetic review of studies on how to effectively measure race/ethnicity for administrative data purposes and then utilize these measures…

Compares the methods used to measure the educational attainment of respondents to the Current Population Survey and the decennial census. Describes a way to reconcile old and new methods of determining highest grade completed. (JOW)

Presents an analysis of the significant parts of the census data Moynihan used to support his argument to determine whether the conclusions he reached are supported by such data, finding that he presents no data to substantiate his argument that black social problems are a function of family instability. (Author/JM)

Changes initiated by the United States Bureau of the Census to data collection on family relationships in the decennial census of the population, the Current Population Survey, and the Survey of Income and Program Participation are reviewed. In the last 5 years, innovations have centered on developing new approaches to identifying the array of…

Data from 127 urban and 39 rural elementary schools were used to examine the utility of Canadian census data for understanding differences in school-level academic achievement, and whether the method of constructing demographic variables affected their relationship to achievement. Indicators obtained with the enrollment method correlated more…

In 1987 the U.S. Census Bureau created a universe of private elementary and secondary schools for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). This universe has been updated every 2 years through list frame updating and area frame updating. For the list frame updating, lists of private schools are obtained from various associations around…

Fertility trends estimated alternately from birth histories and own children method are compared for eight developing countries in which the World Fertility Survey was conducted. Principle hypotheses are that fertility trends estimated by the two approaches suffer from similar errors in the reporting of women's and children's ages, and that these…

The purpose of this report is to describe the results of a series of studies conducted on the relationships between census information and school achievement in the Chicago Public Schools. These studies were designed as an exploratory investigation to determine the extent to which grade-level achievement averages could be predicted using data from…

The response of Asian Americans to the American system and to discrimination and the success they have achieved through their method of response is researched in this study. The relationship between the high Asian American investment in education (in terms of years of schooling completed) and observed income distribution is analyzed. Census data…

In 1965, Taeuber and Taeuber published trend data on racial residential segregation in 109 cities for the years 1940, 1950, and 1960. Their monograph, Negroes in Cities, reported a number of analyses of residential segregation and neighborhood change, utilizing segregation indexes and a variety of other measures derived from census data. In 1971,…

The purchase and preparation of data from the March 1973 Current Population Survey for New York City has been in the nature of an experiment. The U.S. Bureau of the Census in conducting its Current Population Surveys (CPS) includes a sample of approximately 2,100 households in New York City, chosen in such a way as to be representative of the city…

The similar structure of present-day North American cities makes it impossible to study urban poverty as anything other than a concomitant of the possession of certain demographic characteristics the penalty for which is imposed on a society-wide level. By shifting our focus, however, to incorporate both Latin American cities and North American…

While theoretical and empirical research on the economics of human capital is still in its relative youth, a substantial body of work has already accumulated on the variables determining worker earnings and on the importance of schooling as one of those determinants. The present paper focusses attention on one such variable that has received…