# What are the inconsistencies for the variables GQ and GQTYPE in 1920, 1930, 1940 100% samples?

**URL:** <https://forum.ipums.org/t/what-are-the-inconsistencies-for-the-variables-gq-and-gqtype-in-1920-1930-1940-100-samples/2129>\
**Category:** USA\
**Created:** [January 29, 2018, 11:44pm UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/what-are-the-inconsistencies-for-the-variables-gq-and-gqtype-in-1920-1930-1940-100-samples/2129 "2018-01-29T23:44:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![msmangs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f8ce5/32.png) [@msmangs](https://forum.ipums.org/u/msmangs)\
**Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 11:44pm UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/what-are-the-inconsistencies-for-the-variables-gq-and-gqtype-in-1920-1930-1940-100-samples/2129/1 "2018-01-29T23:44:00Z")

</div>

The information for the 1920, 1930, and 1940 Preliminary Complete Count Data says that “Most inconsistent information was not edited for this release, thus there are observations outside of the universe for many variables. In particular, the variables GQ, and GQTYPE have known inconsistencies and will be improved with the next release.” Whate are these inconsistencies? I am espcially interested in using information on correctional institutions.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Michelle\_Pratt](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.ipums.org/michelle_pratt/32/194_2.png) [@Michelle\_Pratt](https://forum.ipums.org/u/Michelle_Pratt)\
**Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 3:18am UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/what-are-the-inconsistencies-for-the-variables-gq-and-gqtype-in-1920-1930-1940-100-samples/2129/2 "2018-01-31T03:18:00Z")

</div>

A more detailed discussion of the comparability issues with GQ and GQTYPE can be found in the comparability tab of each variable ([GQ](https://usa.ipums.org/usa-action/variables/GQ#comparability_section)/[GQTYPE](https://usa.ipums.org/usa-action/variables/GQTYPE#comparability_section)). Additionally, when extracting/analyzing the data, quality flags [QGQ](https://usa.ipums.org/usa-action/variables/QGQ#codes_section) and [QGTYPE](https://usa.ipums.org/usa-action/variables/QGQTYPE#codes_section) are available for some samples; if you add those to your extract, you can see if original data was altered or not.

You can also see in the [errata and revisions](https://usa.ipums.org/usa-action/revisions) section that these variables have had several updates/changes. Most notably, they were improved in 2016 (see November 2, 2016).
