ACS dataset incorrect (...or Stata setup file didn't work)

USA
1

I downloaded a customized ACS dataset (2008-2016), but when I used the setup file to convert it to Stata format, it doesn’t seem to have run correctly (or there’s a problem with the .dat file). For example, the YEAR variable is missing for almost all cases (3.3 mil), and for those cases that have a valid entry for YEAR, it’s a number that doesn’t make sense (e.g. 67 or 3510).

I’ve tried re-doing it a few times, and also revised my origional data request and re-downloaded the .dat file, but it does the same thing every time. (I’m using Stata/SE 15.1)

Thanks for your help

2

Hmm, I could be wrong but, it sounds like the .dat file was not unzipped (or decompressed) properly. Note there are three general steps to downloading and loading IPUMS data into Stata. (1) Download the .do command file and the compressed .dat data file and save them in a reasonable location on your computer. (2) Unzip or decompress the .dat file. We typically recommend 7zip. (3) Open Stata, set your working directly to the location where the files are saved, and run the .do file. This should do the trick.