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Young Children and the Rural Information Gap: The Weaknesses of Major Data Sources for Examining The Well-Being of Rural Children (HTML)
By Jeffrey Capizzano
December 2004

Summary: This study explored the extent to which commonly used measures of well-being can be estimated for children living in rural areas. National data sets that provide source data for well-being indicators were examined. Findings show that the data confidentiality protocols and small sample sizes limit the extent to which child well-being indicators can be estimated for rural children. While public-use data can be used to estimate indicators of child well-being using the imprecise “nonmetropolitan” definition of rural, few indicators can be estimated when rural is defined more precisely (areas with populations of less than 2,500 residents). Results indicate that gaining access to non-public-use data increases the number of indicators that can be estimated with the more precise definition of rural, but at substantial monetary and administrative costs. Appendices include: (1) “Child Well-being Indicators by Source and Measure of Rurality,” (2) “Estimating Child Well-being Indicators for Rural Children: Findings by Data Source,” and (3) “Contact Persons by Data Source.”

Index Terms: Educational Quality, Information Dissemination, Research Reports, Rural Areas, Young Children

Publisher: Urban Institute

Publication Type: Reports (Descriptive)

Pages: 60 pages
Language: English
URL: http://www.ruralec.msstate.edu/reports/Dec_04/default.htm

Availability
Urban Institute
2100 M Street NW
Washington, District of Columbia 20037
202-833-7200
FAX: 202-467-5775
pubs@ui.urban.org
http://www.urban.org/

 
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