MPC Member Publications

This database contains a listing of population studies publications written by MPC Members. Anyone can add a publication by an MPC student, faculty, or staff member to this database; new citations will be reviewed and approved by MPC administrators.

Full Citation

Title: The (Mis)measurement of Subfamilies in U.S. Census Data

Citation Type: Conference Paper

Publication Year: 2010

Abstract: Subfamilies--family units residing in someone else's household--are an importantsubject of research, but they have proved difficult to measure. This research documents trends inand dynamics of the Census Bureau's identification of subfamilies by comparing them to highlyrefined and temporally consistent subfamily measures newly available in the Integrated PublicUse Microdata Series (IPUMS). I show that the Census Bureau's measurement of subfamiliesleads to highly unlikely interpretations of family interrelationships and that these apparent errorshave grown worse over time, affecting even the most recent American Community Survey data.Furthermore, errors are particularly high among young adults, nonwhites, and persons without ahigh school diploma--precisely those populations that subfamily researchers are most interestedin. Researchers may wish to consider avoiding the U.S. Census Bureau's subfamily measures infavor of the IPUMS subfamily measures.

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Schroeder, Matthew B

Conference Name: Population Association of America

Publisher Location: Dallas, TX

Countries:

IPUMS NHGIS NAPP IHIS ATUS Terrapop