DOI: 10.3886/icpsr37077
title: The Women's Employment Study, Genesee County, Michigan, 1997-2004
title: Archival Version

description: The Women's Employment Study, or "WES" combined the insights of poverty researchers, epidemiologists, and social workers by analyzing the ways in which a broad range of labor market, mental health, physical health, and family problems affect a welfare recipient's ability to obtain and retain employment over time. 
WES initially began in the Fall of 1997, and five waves of the survey were completed by early 2004, with a high proportion of the original panel sample retained throughout the study. 
The unique aspects of WES rest largely with the broad range of barriers it measures, and the longitudinal nature of the study that allows researchers to look at employment and welfare experiences over time.
description: A key goal of the study was to examine how the presence of any one of these barriers or combination of barriers affects a recipient's response to new welfare program mandates. The study documented how problems (or the lack thereof) at the time of the interview are correlated with labor market success, continued welfare receipt, or other measures of well-being at subsequent waves. WES explores if and how work and welfare experiences between waves can, conversely, predict changes in a recipient's overall personal employability during the study period.
description: The Survey Research Center of the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan conducted the data collection effort. SRC interviewers administered face-to-face standardized interviews using a paper-and-pencil survey instrument. Interviews slightly increased in length over the waves, from approximately 60 minutes to 85 minutes.
Most of the interviews at the first wave of WES were conducted in the Fall of 1997. Waves 2 and 3 were conducted at approximately one-year intervals in the Fall of 1998 and Winter of 1999, respectively. Wave 4 and 5 were collected in the Fall of 2001 and 2003, respectively. At each wave, respondents were followed from the previous wave but no attempt to recontact non-respondents were made.
description: The first group of datasets are the ones built directly from the interview questions from the 5 waves. These are Datasets 1 to 5 (Wave 1 Survey Data to Wave 5 Survey Data).
The second group of datasets contain created variables that come from the original datasets. Many of the questions in the survey may be part of scales that need to be coded; the mental health sections use standardized coding algorithms to create variables; and a series of "barriers" to employment measures were devised to be used repeatedly in analyses. These datasets are named by number of the wave the variables were created from. Datasets 6 to 11 (Wave 1 Standard Created Variables Data to Wave 5 Standard Created Variables Restricted-Use Data) contain the created variables.
The third group of datasets are the household rosters that are completed prior to the interviews. In each wave, respondents are asked certain questions (e.g., who lives with them, their relationships, age, etc.) and variables were created from these responses (e.g., the number of adults in a household, the number of children in various age categories, etc.). One household dataset per wave is created and named with the number of the wave and the word "Household". Datasets 12 to 16 (Wave 1 Household Data to Wave 5 Household Data) contain the household variables.
Lastly, there are a number of datasets that are smaller and contain variables related to different topics. These data are found in Datasets 17 to 27.
description: none
description: Response Rates: Response rates were 86% for Wave 1 (N=753), 92% for Wave 2 (N=693), 91% for Wave 3 (N=632), 91% for Wave 4 (N=577), and 93% for Wave 5 (N=536).
description: Presence of Common Scales: Likert scales were used in the survey.
description: The sample was systematically drawn with equal probability from an ordered list of the universe of active single mother cases from the FIA (Family Independence Agency). Cases were proportionately selected by zip code, race (White, non-Hispanic or African-American), and age (18-54 years).
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Wave 1 Survey Data
DS2: Wave 2 Survey Data
DS3: Wave 3 Survey Data
DS4: Wave 4 Survey Data
DS5: Wave 5 Survey Data
DS6: Wave 1 Standard Created Variables Data
DS7: Wave 2 Standard Created Variables Data
DS8: Wave 3 Standard Created Variables Data
DS9: Wave 4 Standard Created Variables Data
DS10: Wave 5 Standard Created Variables Public-Use Data
DS11: Wave 5 Standard Created Variables Restricted-Use Data
DS12: Wave 1 Household Data
DS13: Wave 2 Household Data
DS14: Wave 3 Household Data
DS15: Wave 4 Household Data
DS16: Wave 5 Household Data
DS17: Barriers Data
DS18: Food Assistance Data
DS19: Hardships Data
DS20: Income Data
DS21: Marriage Data
DS22: Race Data
DS23: Substance Use Data
DS24: Welfare Data
DS25: Changes In Work and Welfare Status Data
DS26: Work and Welfare Status Data
DS27: Work Data
description: Single parent female headed cases with children who received Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) in an urban Michigan county. Smallest Geographic Unit: none
description: face-to-face interview; paper and pencil interview (PAPI)