Matching third-party data sources to household surveys can benefit household surveys in a number of ways, but the utility of these new data sources depends critically on our ability to link units between data sets. To understand this better, this report discusses potential modifications to the existing match process that could potentially improve our matches. While many changes to the matching procedure produce marginal improvements in match rates, substantial increases in match rates can only be achieved by relaxing the definition of a successful match. In the end, the results show that the most important factor determining the success of matching procedures is the quality and composition of the data sets being matched.
WORKING PAPER | APRIL 21, 2015
Assimilation and Coverage of the Foreign-Born Population
The U.S. Census Bureau is researching ways to incorporate administrative data in decennial census and survey operations.
WORKING PAPER | MAY 04, 2015
Likely Transgender Individuals in U.S. Federal Administrative Records
This paper utilizes changes to first names and sex-coding in files from the Social Security Administration to identify people likely to be transgender.
WORKING PAPER | AUGUST 26, 2015
An outside view: What do observers say about races & Hispanic origins?
This paper studies patterns of observer identification using a unique, large, linked data source with two measures of a person’s race and Hispanic origin.