The GESIS Microcensus-Trendfile is a harmonised and cumulated data set of Microcensuses available for scientific research from 1962 to 2016. The GESIS Microcensus-Trendfile thus covers a period of more than five decades and allows not only long-term but also detailed analysis of social change in (West) Germany. It contains more than 160 variables from various fields that have been made comparable over as many years and with as little loss of information as possible. The data manual (which is only available in German) summarises the construction of the GESIS Microcensus-Trendfile. It contains all necessary information on the initial data as well as on the availability and recoding of the harmonised variables. Routines (in SPSS) are provided to create the GESIS Microcensus-Trendfile.
Data included in the GESIS Microcensus-Trendfile:
Variables included in the Microcensus-Trendfile:
Publication:
Lengerer, Andrea, Julia H. Schroedter, Mara Boehle und Christof Wolf (2020): Datenhandbuch GESIS Mikrozensus-Trendfile. Harmonisierung der Mikrozensen 1962 bis 2016. GESIS Papers 2020|18. Mannheim: GESIS.
Syntax for generating the GESIS Microcensus-Trendfile
zip-File (699 kB) (as of 12/2020, contains 360 separate syntax files and one readme)
The syntax for generating the GESIS Microcensus-Trendfile is provided for SPSS. The syntax (current version 5) is structured hierarchically: There is a Metajob requiring only the input of paths and names to open Microcensus raw data and to save the cumulated dataset. The Metajob reads single Microcensuses datasets, generates harmonised variables of the different subject areas and combines the newly created files to an aggregated dataset. A separate syntax is available for each year and each subject area, which is imported by Metajob. Classifications are created and the variable and value labels are assigned before final saving in the GESIS Microcensus-Trendfile.
Users who do not want to use the entire GESIS Microcensus-Trendfile, but only particular years from it, need to slightly adapt the Metajob: Syntax for years not required can simply be commented out, this is also applicable for variables from subject areas which are not needed. For convenience, however, it is recommended to generate the GESIS Microcensus-Trendfile with all variables first and to save only the desired variables in the last step.
Users are free to adjust the syntaxes to harmonise the individual Microcensuses according to their own requirements. Modifications and extensions can be made directly in the syntaxes for this purpose.
Syntax for extending the GESIS Microcensus-Trendfile with variables on partnership living arrangements
zip-File (210 kB) (as of 12/2020, contains 34 separate syntax files and one readme)
The syntax can be used to add harmonised variables on partnership living arrangements to the GESIS Microcensus-Trendfile. These variables include marriages, registered partnerships and nonmarital partnerships of persons of different or the same sex. The latter have been recorded with a question in the Microcensus since 1996 only. For previous years, an estimation procedure has been developed which allows to retrace the spread of unmarried cohabitation up to the early 1970s and analyse it in detail together with the remaining variables contained in the GESIS Microcensus-Trendfile.
Publication:
Lengerer, Andrea (2019): Mikrozensus Tools. Identifikation verschieden- und gleichgeschlechtlicher Partnerschaften in den Scientific Use Files 1973 bis 2014. GESIS Papers 2019|09. Mannheim: GESIS.
Please note: Provided here is the syntax for identifying partnership living arrangements in the GESIS Microcensus-Trendfile. In addition, there is a second version of the syntax for the individual Microcensus survey years.
