Coming March 12, 2024, Julie Ma, associate professor and director of social work here at the University of Michigan-Flint, will be hosting a seminar with guest speaker Elizabeth Heger Boyle from the University of Minnesota. The seminar will focus on the IPUMS-MICS survey data system which Boyle and Ma use to research the impact of physical discipline on children across 43 different countries. The seminar will touch on how IPUMS-MICS can be used as a research tool, and on the specific research examining how childhood development is affected by the use of parental physical punishment. Boyle is one of the pioneers of the IPUMS Global Health data system, so this seminar will give attendees a chance to hear about her approach to sociology and research using the system.
IPUMS stands for Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, and MICS stands for Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. MICS are data gathered by the United Nations Children’s Fund from 88 countries worldwide regarding the health of women, children, men, households, and more. IPUMS is the system that takes data collected and puts it into one consistent format. So, the IPUMS-MICS system can provide researchers with data on the health of 18 million different people spread across various countries with a focus on lower and middle-income countries. Data are formatted and consolidated into one space. Access to the data is free, however it does require an individual to register to use it, and provide a valid reason to use the system. The IPUMS system allows the MICS data to code variables (ie., explanatory factors or characteristics) consistently and to give researchers the ability to craft their own data sets. IPUMS-MICS is a collaboration of the Institute for Social Research and Data Innovation (at the University of Minnesota) and UNICEF, and is funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, one of 26 centers at NIH.
In an interview, Dr. Ma says she started working with Boyle in Fall 2023 after reaching out to learn more about the IPUMS-MICS system for her own research. Since then, they’ve decided to work on a manuscript together using MICS data to explore the association between political violence (ie., terrorism and political conflict), and parental use of physical discipline. This seminar is part of the NIH R15 Global Families Project Seminar Series. The Global Families Project is led by Ma with the intent to research the link between gender inequality and increased violence against children in low and middle-income countries as it relates to parental physical abuse, as well as how parental physical abuse can be associated with violent social norms, crime, and children’s social-emotional development.
In the same interview, Ma indicated the seminar be a helpful event for anyone interested in demographic and world data and doing research on health, women and children’s health internationally. She said it is also a great opportunity for students to learn more about IPUMS-MICS, its resources, and an example of the research conducted using the data. This event will also provide an opportunity to learn more about Boyle and how IPUMS-MICS system has evolved. The event is open to all UM-Flint students, staff, faculty. All interested participants are asked to register to assist in the planning for the event. This event is being funded by the NICHD Academic Research Enhancement Award granted to Ma, and will be held in the 396 Murchie Science Building on the UM-Flint campus.