# Presentation: 458585

## The SIPP: The Evolution of a PhoenixPopulation Association of AmericaApril 17, 2008David Johnson

## The SIPP Evolution

## The Unique Value of SIPP

**To provide a nationally representative sample for evaluating:**
**annual and sub-annual dynamics of income**
**movements into and out of government transfer programs**
**family and social context of individuals and households**
**interactions between these items**

## Purpose of SIPP

**Recommendation 2-1: **The two primary goals for SIPP should be to provide ***improved information on the distribution of income*** and other economic resources for people and families and on ***eligibility for and participation in government assistance programs.****** *** Within these two goals, most attention should be paid to improving the information for people who are economically at risk.
**The Future of the Survey of Income and Program Participation, NAS, 1993**

## Recent/Forthcoming SIPP reports

**2004 Marriage and Divorce table package  ****	**
**Dynamics of Economic Well-Being: Movements in the U.S. Income Distribution 2001-2003****	****	****	**
**A Child’s Day, 2004, table package****	****	**
**Maternity Leave and Employment Patterns of First-Time Mothers: 1961-2003****	****	****	****	****	**
**Living Arrangements of Children: 2004****	**
**Who’s Minding the Kids? Child Care Arrangements table package**
**Providing Support: 2005 table package**
**Net Worth and Asset Ownership of Households: 2002 **
**American’s with Disabilities:  2005**
**Dynamics of Economic Well-Being: Poverty**

## Current Uses of SIPP (recent CBO reports)

## SIPP 2004 Panel Highlights

- Target of 45,000 Household sample
- Reduced by half in Sept 2006 (wave 8) and TMs eliminated
- Continued collection until Jan 2008 (wave 12)
- State representativeness and reliability for 33 states
- Reduced seam bias
- Currently wave 6 released

## SIPP 2008 Panel Highlights

- Target of 45,000 Household sample
- Wave 1 begins in Sept 2008
- Modified 2004 Panel TM structure
- Same Wave 1, 2.  Wave 3 TMs on Wave 4, etc.
- Collection for 3-4 years
- State representativeness and reliability for 20 states
- Waves released 9 months after data collection completed

## Our work on SIPP Improvements 

- Improve Processing System and Collection Instrument
- Develop Event History Calendar (EHC)  Instrument
- Examine use of administrative records data to supplement and evaluate survey data
- Continue meetings with stakeholders, development of survey content, and use of reimbursable supplements

## Timeline for SIPP Development

- 2008 paper EHC

**2007                               2008                                 2009                               2010                                2011                                2012           **
**          ****Sep ---  Jan  --- May --- Sep ---  Jan  --- May --- Sep ---  Jan  --- May --- Sep ---  Jan --- May --- Sep ---  Jan  --- May --- Sep ---  Jan 2013**

- 2009 SIPP Re-Engineering
- Instrument Dev.

- Processing and
- Evaluation

- SIPP 2008 Panel – Waves 1 – 10 collection

- Eval.  Analysis

- Systems Tests -
- Preparation

- 2009 Re-engineered
- SIPP automated
- Prototype
- Reference Period

- Field Activities

- 2012/13 SIPP Re-Engineering
- Instrument Refinement

- Systems Tests -
- Preparation

- 2013 Reengineered
- SIPP Reference Period

- Field Activities

- SIPP 2008 Panel – Waves 1 – 13 data release

- Data Gap

- SIPP 2004

- 2nd automated
- prototype
-  Reference Period

- Field Act.

- SIPP 2004 Panel data  release

- Waves 11 – 13

## Improving Processing System

- Convert CAPI instrument to BLAISE
- Develop processing system in conjunction with survey instrument for reengineered SIPP
- Document processing system
- Convert from FORTRAN to SAS
- Document edit and imputation procedures

## Evaluate use of EHC

-  An EHC interview is centered around a customized calendar that shows the reference period under investigation
- The calendar contains timelines for different domains
- Landmark events, such as holidays and birthdays can be used to aid the respondent’s memory
- Many surveys using EHC – PSID, LAFANS, ELSA

## 2008 Paper Test 

**Paper instrument (Control card, EHC, and Assets Questions)**
**Administered April/May 2008**
**A reinterview evaluation and validation test**
**Reinterview of 2004 panel SIPP respondents to recollect information for calendar year 2007 (about 2000 households)**
**Cases completing Wave 12 of SIPP 2004 Panel (Primed)**
**Sample reduction cases cut after Wave 8 2004 Panel (Un-Primed)**
**Pairwise comparison of responses from the two data sources**
**Validation of responses using administrative records matched at the individual level; assess the occurrence, timing, and distributional differences.**
**Interviewer debriefings and qualitative analyses to refine concepts and training procedures **

## Screen shot of prototype

**Screen shot of prototype**
**automated EHC instrument**

## Screen shot of prototype

**Screen shot of prototype**
**automated EHC instrument**

**Pop-up with question**

## Re-engineered Survey Format/Content

**Survey Instrument –**
**Annual administration (Jan/Feb)**
**BLAISE (plus EHC) **
**Follow movers**
**Limited feedback**
**Content**
**Responding users indicated a broad need for most of SIPP core content.  **
**Calendar –**
**Improvement on other designs by integrating more closely with the instrument programming language.**

## Use of Administrative Records 

- National-level data
- SIPP linked with administrative records data at the person level
- Examining imputation methods
- Creation of SIPP Synthetic Beta File matched with SSA data
- State-level data
- Many social programs administered at the state-level
- SIPP data linked to social program data from  states, e.g., Maryland, Illinois

## Stakeholder Meetings and presentations

**Association of Public Policy and Management (Nov 2007)**
**Event History Calendar Conference (Dec 2007)**
**See http://psidonline.isr.umich.edu/Publications/Workshops/ehc-07papers.html**
**American Economic Association, Session (Jan 2008)**
**Population Association of America, Panel (April 2008)**
**SIPP Small Grants and Workshop (October 2008)**
**See http://www.npc.umich.edu/opportunities/research_grants/sipp2007/**** **
**ASA Survey Research Methods Committee (Sept 2008)**
**CNSTAT Panel (Karl Scholz (chair), Pat Ruggles (study director)) (report due fall 2008)**

## URL: http://www.sipp.census.gov/sipp

**URL: http://www.sipp.census.gov/sipp**

*Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Demographics Survey Division,**Survey of Income and Program Participation branch *

**Census Bureau Links:****   **_[Home](http://www.census.gov/index.html)__ · __[Search](http://www.census.gov/main/www/srchtool.html)__ · __[Subjects A-Z](http://www.census.gov/main/www/subjects.html)__ · __[FAQs](http://ask.census.gov/)__ · __[Data Tools](http://www.census.gov/main/www/access.html)__ · __[Catalog](https://censuscatalog.mso.census.gov/esales/)__ · __[Census 2000](http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html)__ · __[Quality](http://www.census.gov/qdocs/www/)__ · __[Privacy Policy](http://www.census.gov/privacy/)__ · __[Contact Us](http://www.census.gov/main/www/contacts.html)__ __                                                                                       _

**  **

**Updating SIPP User Guide**