I am currently working with the complete count 1930 US census and found that in some cases, the birth place of a parent is inconsistent between the value reported by the child (through FBPL or MBPL), and the value reported directly by the parent (BPL of linked parent through SERIAL and POPLOC or MOMLOC).
For example, a child might report that their father was born domestically (in the continental US), but when I link the child to their father in the census using SERIAL and POPLOC, the father’s birthplace (BPL) is reported as foreign (outside the US).
In such cases, is there one value that is more reliable?
The family interrelationship pointer variables MOMLOC and POPLOC are constructed by IPUMS using algorithms that identify the most likely relationships between household members. The algorithms use age, sex, marital status, and reported relationship to the head of household (RELATE) to make these determinations. MOMLOC and POPLOC identify biological as well as non-biological parent-child relationships like adoptive and step relationships. There is no direct question about who in the household is each person’s parent or child, but there are some responses to RELATE (relationship to the householder) that essentially report this information (i.e., persons with RELATE values of “child” or “parent”). Our algorithm inevitably makes some errors in assigning links between parents and children.
The birthplace variables BPL, FBPL, and MBPL are respondent-reported variables, meaning that census enumerators asked directly about the birthplaces of household members and household members’ parents. The parent’s birthplace as reported in FBPL or MBPL can differ from the parent’s birthplace as determined using POPLOC/MOMLOC and BPL for a few reasons. First, POPLOC or MOMLOC is linking to a person who is not the individual’s father or mother. The individual’s actual parent could be someone else in the household or may not live in the household. Second, someone provided incorrect information in FBPL/MBPL and/or BPL. Third, errors in enumeration or transcription created discrepancies between the two.
In case you are not aware of it, you may find the attach characteristics feature useful. It allows you to automatically add variables for the mother, father, head of household, and spouse to your IPUMS data extract. For example, you can attach the age of the mother to the extract, meaning your extract will include a variable called BPL_MOM that reports the value of BPL of each person’s mother (as identified in MOMLOC).
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Great, very helpful! Thank you for the information!