IPUMS Research Awards

We are pleased to announce the opening of the annual IPUMS Research Awards competition. These awards honor outstanding research using IPUMS data to advance or deepen our understanding of social and demographic processes. We are looking for papers that use innovative approaches, comparative analyses, and showcase the power of the IPUMS data collections. Cash prizes are awarded for best published work* and best graduate student work** (published or unpublished) in eight categories.

Submit a nomination

Nominations will open on January 13, 2025

Award Categories

Please select the category that is most appropriate for your research; each category includes an award for published work and student work (published or unpublished). The submission form includes an option to specify if the paper should be also considered for the IPUMS Excellence in Research Award (one published and one student submission will be selected). 

  • IPUMS USA: Best paper using data from IPUMS USA (including full count data)
  • IPUMS CPS: Best paper using data from IPUMS CPS
  • IPUMS International: Best paper using data from IPUMS International
  • IPUMS Health Surveys: Best paper using data from IPUMS NHIS and/or IPUMS MEPS
  • IPUMS Spatial: Best paper using data from IPUMS NHGIS, IPUMS IHGIS, and/or IPUMS CDOH
  • IPUMS Global Health: Best paper using data from IPUMS DHS, IPUMS MICS and/or IPUMS PMA (2023 and 2024 publications using IPUMS MICS data are eligible for this year’s competition)
  • IPUMS Time Use: Best paper using data from IPUMS ATUS, IPUMS AHTUS, or IPUMS MTUS
  • IPUMS Excellence in Research Award: The IPUMS mission of democratizing data demands that we increase representation of scholars from groups that are systemically excluded in research spaces. This award is an opportunity to highlight and reward outstanding work using any of the IPUMS data collections by authors who are underrepresented in social science research†. Researchers submitting their work (or nominating the work of a colleague) for consideration in one of the IPUMS data collection categories will be asked to indicate if their work should also be considered for the IPUMS Excellence in Research Award. 

 

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE 2024 IPUMS RESEARCH AWARDS

Deadline: Sunday, February 16, 2025

Nominations must be submitted through our research submission form. Self nominations are encouraged.

Be prepared to provide the following information at the time of submission:

  • Corresponding author: name, e-mail address, and institution
  • The IPUMS data collection(s) used for the research
  • Page number or other detailed description where IPUMS is cited in the paper (references and/or in-text citation)
  • Award type (published research or student research award)
  • Indicate if the paper should be considered for IPUMS Excellence in Research Award (in addition to consideration for a data collection specific award)
  • For published research award:     
    • Citation and link to online version if open access
    • PDF of the paper if not open access
  • For student research (published or not published):     
    • Citation and link to published research, SocArXiv or other paper repository
    • PDF of the paper if published research is not open access
       

Note: If sending a book, please contact ipums@umn.edu for shipping information.

 

View past IPUMS research award winners.

 

* Published research criteria stipulate use and citation of one of the eligible IPUMS data collections in a 2024 refereed publication.

** Student research award criteria stipulate use and citation of one of the eligible IPUMS data collections in a paper written in 2024 whose lead author is a student; published student work must be in a 2024 publication. We strongly encourage that unpublished research be submitted to SocArXiv, an open archive for the social sciences, or another open archive or paper repository.

†To be considered for the IPUMS Excellence in Research Award, the lead author of a paper must self-identify as belonging to one or more groups that are systemically excluded in research spaces. Because IPUMS is based in the United States, we often include persons who identify as Black/African American, Indigenous, Hispanic/Latino/a/x, Asian American, first-generation college graduates or students, LGBTQ+ persons, or persons with disabilities in our definition of systemically excluded groups. We recognize for scholars outside of the U.S., in particular, this list may not capture discrimination in their social contexts, and encourage submissions from persons who identify with a group that has been systemically excluded even if it is not explicitly listed here.