Minnesota Population Center Explained

The Minnesota Population Center (MPC) is a university-wide interdisciplinary research center at the University of Minnesota. MPC was established in 2000, absorbing two earlier population research organizations.^[1] The primary goals of the center are to foster large-scale cross-disciplinary research collaborations and to provide shared infrastructure for demographic research.^[2] The center now has 100 faculty affiliates^[3] from 10 University of Minnesota Colleges,^[4] over 50 graduate student affiliates^[5] and 120 administrative and research staff.^[6]

Overview

The primary activity of MPC is demographic research; work at the center is divided into eight major themes:^[7]

• Large-scale demographic data infrastructure
• Work, family, and time-use
• Historical demography
• Education, labor, and the life-course
• Healthcare access and health disparities
• Census and survey methodology
• Unions and sexuality
• Population and environment

MPC is the producer and distributor of the world's largest demographic data collections.^[8] These data collections include the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS),^[9] the National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS),^[10] the North Atlantic Population Project (NAPP),^[11] and the Integrated Health Interview Series (IHIS).^[12] Over 40,000 demographic researchers worldwide are registered to use these data collections.^[8]

See also

• Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS)

Notes and References

1. Web site: History and Philosophy of the Minnesota Population Center . University of Minnesota, Minnesota Population Center . 2011-10-21.
2. Web site: By-Laws and Mission of the Minnesota Population Center . University of Minnesota, Minnesota Population Center . 2011-10-21.
3. Web site: Members of the Minnesota Population Center . University of Minnesota, Minnesota Population Center . 2011-10-21.
4. Web site: About MPC . University of Minnesota, Minnesota Population Center . 2011-10-21.
5. Web site: Graduate Student Members of the Minnesota Population Center . University of Minnesota, Minnesota Population Center . 2011-10-21.
6. Web site: MPC Staff . University of Minnesota, Minnesota Population Center . 2011-10-21.
7. Web site: Research Themes of the Minnesota Population Center . University of Minnesota, Minnesota Population Center . 2011-10-21.
8. Matthew Sobek; Lara Cleveland; Sarah Flood; Patricia Kelly Hall; Miriam L. King; Steven Ruggles; Matthew Schroeder, "Big Data: Large-Scale Historical Infrastructure from the Minnesota Population Center." Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History 44:2 (2011), pages 61–68.
9. [Steven Ruggles]
10. Catherine Fitch and Steven Ruggles, "Building the National Historical Geographic Information System," Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History 36:1 (2003), pages 41–51.
11. [Steven Ruggles]
12. Pamela J. Johnson, Lynn A. Blewett, Steven Ruggles, Michael E. Davern, and Miriam L. King, “Four Decades of Population Health Data: The Integrated Health Interview Series.” Epidemiology, 19:6 (2008), pages 872–875.