What if the samples are too big for my computer to handle?

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What if the samples are too big for my computer to handle?

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It is possible to make samples that are extremely large. There are a number of ways to reduce the file size.

  1. You can select fewer samples or variables. In particular, requesting replicate weights will increase your extract size dramatically, so we recommend that you select these only if you intend to use them for this extract.

  2. You can use the case selection feature of the extract system to include only records with certain characteristics, such as females age 15 to 49. Simply selecting out cases is not always desirable, however, because you may want all the co-resident persons as well. Accordingly, the case selection function also lets you choose to include everyone living in a household with a person with the selected characteristics.

  3. Use the “Customize sample sizes” feature on the ‘Extract Request’ page to draw smaller random subsets of some or all of the samples in your extract. This feature is available in IPUMS-USA, IPUMNS-International and NAPP. The sample weights in the data will be adjusted appropriately.