Full Citation

Title: When Excessive Perturbation Goes Wrong and Why IPUMS-International Relies Instead on Sampling, Suppression, Swapping, and Other Minimally Harmful Methods to Protect Privacy of Census Microdata

Citation Type: Book, Section

Publication Year: 2012

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Abstract: IPUMS-International disseminates population census microdata at no cost for 69 countries. Currently, a series of 212 samples totaling almost a half billion person records are available to researchers. Registration is required for researchers to gain access to the microdata. Statistics from Google Analytics show that IPUMSInternationals lengthy, probing registration form is an effective deterrent for unqualified applicants. To protect data privacy, we rely principally on sampling, suppression of geographic detail, swapping of records across geographic boundaries, and other minimally harmful methods such as top and bottom coding. We do not use excessively perturbative methods. A recent case of perturbation gone wrong the household samples of the 2000 census of the USA (PUMS), the 20032006 American Community Survey, and the 20042009 Current Population Survey, an empirical study of the impact of perturbation on the usability of UK census microdatathe Individual SARs of the 1991 census of the UK, and a mathematical demonstration in a timely compendium of statistical confidentiality practices confirm the wisdom of IPUMS microdata management protocols and statistical disclosure controls.

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Sobek, Matthew; Ruggles, Steven J; Cleveland, Lara L; McCaa, Robert

Editors: Josep Domingo-Ferrer, Ilenia Tinnirello David Hutchison Takeo Kanade

Pages: 179-187

Volume Title: Privacy in Statistical Databases

Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg

Publisher Location: New York

Volume: 7556

Edition: 12

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