This data collection is part of a longitudinal survey designed to provide detailed information on the economic situation of households and persons in the United States. These data examine the distribution of income, wealth, and poverty in American society and gauge the effects of federal and state programs on the well-being of families and individuals. There are three basic elements contained in the survey. The first is a control card that records basic social and demographic characteristics for each person in a household, as well as changes in such characteristics over the course of the interviewing period. The second element is the core portion of the questionnaire, with questions repeated at each interview on labor force activity, types and amounts of income, participation in various cash and noncash benefit programs, attendance in post-secondary schools, private health insurance coverage, public or subsidized rental housing, low-income energy assistance, and school breakfast and lunch participation. The third element consists of topical modules, which are a series of supplemental questions asked during selected household visits. Topical modules include some core data to help link individuals to the core files. A topical module was not created for Wave I. The Wave II Topical Module (Part 17) covers recipiency, employment, work disability, education and training, marital status, migration, and fertility histories along with household relationships. The Wave III Topical Module (Part 19) includes data on work schedules, child care, child support agreements, support for nonhousehold members, functional limitations and disability, and utilization of health care services. Data from the Wave IV Topical Module (Part 21) include assets and liabilities, retirement expectations and pension plan coverage, and real estate property and vehicles. The Wave V Topical Module (Part 23) provides data on educational financing and enrollment. The Wave VI Topical Module (Part 25) covers time spent outside the work force, child care, child support agreements, support for nonhousehold members, functional limitations and disability, and utilization of health care services. Data in the Wave VII Topical Module (Part 27) cover selected financial assets, medical expenses and work disability, and real estate, shelter costs, dependent care, and vehicles. Wave VIII Topical Module (Part 29) includes data on annual income and retirement accounts, taxes, and school enrollment and financing. Part 33 of this study is the Wave V Topical Module Research File, an unedited version of Part 23. This research file has not been edited nor imputed but has been topcoded or bottomcoded and recoded if necessary by the Census Bureau to avoid disclosure of individual respondents' identities.

Datasets: DS0: Study-Level Files DS1: Wave I Rectangular Data DS2: Data Dictionary for Wave I Rectangular File DS3: Wave II Rectangular Data DS4: Data Dictionary for Wave II Rectangular File DS5: Wave III Rectangular Data DS6: Data Dictionary for Wave III Rectangular File DS7: Wave IV Core Microdata File DS8: Data Dictionary for Wave IV Core Microdata File DS9: Wave V Core Microdata File DS10: Data Dictionary for Wave V Core Microdata File DS11: Wave VI Core Microdata File DS12: Data Dictionary for Wave VI Core Microdata File DS13: Wave VII Core Microdata File DS14: Data Dictionary for Wave VII Core Microdata File DS15: Wave VIII Core Microdata File DS16: Data Dictionary for Wave VIII Core Microdata File DS17: Wave II Topical Module Microdata File DS18: Data Dictionary for Wave II Topical Module Microdata File DS19: Wave III Topical Module Microdata File DS20: Data Dictionary for Wave III Topical Module Microdata File DS21: Wave IV Topical Module Microdata File DS22: Data Dictionary for Wave IV Topical Module Microdata File DS23: Wave V Topical Module Microdata File DS24: Data Dictionary for Wave V Topical Module Microdata File DS25: Wave VI Topical Module Microdata File DS26: Data Dictionary for Wave VI Topical Module Microdata File DS27: Wave VII Topical Module Microdata File DS28: Data Dictionary for Wave VII Topical Module Microdata File DS29: Wave VIII Topical Module Microdata File DS30: Data Dictionary for Wave VIII Topical Module Microdata File DS31: User Notes DS32: User Guide DS33: Wave V Topical Module Research File

A multistage stratified sampling design was used. One-fourth of the sample households were interviewed each month, and households were reinterviewed at four-month intervals. All persons at least 15 years old who were present as household members at the time of the first interview were included for the entire study, except those who joined the military, were institutionalized for the entire study period, or moved from the United States. Original household members who moved during the study period were followed to their new residences and interviewed there. New persons moving into households of members of the original sample also were included in the survey, but were not followed if they left the household of an original sample person.

Beginning with the 1990 Panel, the file structure of SIPP has changed. The unit of observation is one record for each person for each month, rather than one record per person. Also, topical modules are provided separately from core files.The codebooks are provided by ICPSR as a Portable Document Format (PDF) files and the data dictionaries are provided as ASCII text files. The PDF file format was developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated and can be accessed using PDF reader software, such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Information on how to obtain a copy of the Acrobat Reader is provided on the ICPSR Web site.

Resident population of the United States, excluding persons living in institutions and military barracks.