Data & Documentation
About the Data
The Great Plains Population and Environment Database was produced by an interdisciplinary research team led by Myron Gutmann of the University of Michigan between 1995 and 2004, as part of a research project funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (Grant Number R01 HD33445 to the University of Michigan). The goal of the project was to collect information about approximately 500 counties in twelve states of the Great Plains of the United States, and then to analyze those data in order to understand the relationships between population and environment that existed between the years of about 1870 and 2000.
There are two ways to obtain the data from this project: via our Online Extraction System and via traditionally-formatted data download.
Online Extraction System
The easiest way to make use of the Great Plains Population and Environment Database is to extract data from the on-line data extract system. The extract system allows data users to construct their own data sets with any combination of geography, time period, and data item. Access to the data is available to any researcher who identifies themselves, becomes a registered user, and agrees to the conditions of use associated with the data.
Go to online extraction system
Traditionally-formatted Data
The various components that make up the Great Plains Population and Environment Database are also available from the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) for public use as traditionally-formatted data, where there is one data file for each type of data for each year of data collection. The data files are available as raw ASCII data, as well as SAS, STATA, and SPSS system files. Simple documentation is available for each data file.
Great Plains Population and Environment Data: Agricultural Data, 1870-1997 [United States] (ICPSR 4254)
Great Plains Population and Environment Data: Social and Demographic Data, 1870-2000 [United States] (ICPSR 4296)
Documentation
Each of the data dissemination mechanisms listed above provides its own level of documentation. For overview documentation, please consult The Great Plains Population and Environment Database Users' Guide 1.0 (PDF 4.5MB). This document, published in 1998, is now somewhat out of date, but it is the only comprehensive view of the project and its data that is available.