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SAMPLE
IPUMS sample identifier
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Description

SAMPLE identifies the IPUMS sample from which the case is drawn. Each sample receives a unique 6-digit code. The codes are structured as follows:

  • The first four digits are the year of the census/survey.
  • The next two digits identify the sample within the year.

For most censuses, IPUMS has multiple datasets which were constructed using different sampling techniques (i.e. size/demographic of the sample population, geographic coverage level or location, or duration of the sampling period for the ACS/PRCS samples).

The availability table for each variable indicates whether that variable is available in only certain samples for a given year. For further discussion of sample differences, see "Sample Designs.".

Note: SAMPLE replaces DATANUM. Though the last two digits in SAMPLE do not correlate exactly with the now-deprecated DATANUM, the variable serves the same purpose of assigning a unique id to all cases that belong to the same dataset.