Technical Details

This part of the documentation provides a complete description of the procedures used to produce the ROAD Project files. Users interested only in typical uses of the ROAD datasets will not need to refer to this part. Users interested in extending or replicating the ROAD Project, or learning much more detail about how our data were compiled, can find all they need to know here. Much of the documentation here comes from our internal notes and instructions to each other and our research assistants (so ``you'' refers to us or those working for us).

 
• plvdkey.exe : Creating MCD-groups and a Common Index
  • Introduction
  • Usage
  • Inputs to plvdkey.exe
  • Output Files
    • The .mg File
    • The .mgl File
    • The .mgs File
  • MCD Group-Creation Algorithm
• Merging Census and Electoral Data
  • A Formal Checklist
    • Prepare the state directory
    • Load the datasets
    • Create the MCD-group Units
    • Assign MCD-group IDs to the Precinct-Level Electoral Data
    • Add MCD-group codes to the STF3a data.
    • Aggregate and Merge Electoral Data and Census STF3a data.
  • Filenames Used
• Hand-Matching: The Correspondence between Precincts, VTDs, and MCD-Groups
  • Overview
  • Summary of What to Do
  • Some Terminology
  • Some Basic Facts to Guide You
  • Match Rules
  • Identifying Exceptions
  • When We Get Hand-Matching Results Back
• State-by-State Exceptions and Notes for all ROAD Datasets
  • Alaska
  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Arizona
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • District of Columbia
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Hawaii
  • Iowa
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Massachusetts
  • Maryland
  • Maine
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Missouri
  • Mississippi
  • Montana
  • North Carolina
  • North Dakota
  • Nebraska
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
  • Nevada
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Virginia
  • Vermont
  • Washington
  • Wisconsin
  • West Virginia
  • Wyoming
• Details on the the California Block Group Merge
  • Data Description
    • Database Attributes
    • Overview
    • Files
    • Codebook: CA Data at the Block Level
    • Problems with the Data
  • Merging Process
    • Accuracy of Merging Process
    • Merger of SOV and Registration precincts
    • Merger of SOV and Registration precincts to census geography
    • Conversion between Precincts and Census Geography

Copyright © 1997-2004

[ROAD Home]

Questions? Contact the ROAD webmaster.