Starting in 1980, the United States Bureau of the Census (BUCEN) has asked in each decennial census (1980, 1990 and 2000) two questions that are key for researching ethnic groups in the United States (US): a) "what is your ancestry or ethnic origin?"; b) "do you speak a language other than English at home?" (Given the high level of intermarriage in the US, respondents could declare one or two ancestries; the language question was asked to persons aged five years or more).  These two questions have also been asked in the American Community Survey (ACS) conducted yearly since 2000.  They allow one to estimate the number of Ukrainians in the US (persons who declared "Ukrainian" as their first or second ancestry) and how many of them speak Ukrainian on a regular basis at home.

Based on the census and ACS data, BUCEN has constructed what are called Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) tapes.  These are 5% representative samples of complete census and survey individual records, as well as of housing and household records (see http://www.census.gov/main/www/pums.html for census PUMS and for the ACS PUMS see http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Products/PUMS).  Based on these PUMS, the Minnesota Population Center of the Univ. of Minnesota, under the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS-USA) project, has developed a set of data bases that integrate PUMS from the different censuses and ACS in a comparable set of computer files, facilitating time series analysis with these data (see http://usa.ipums.org/usa/ for more details).   Our data sets are based on these IPUMS-US files. These PUMS are the only reliable source of objective statistics on all Ukrainians in the US (according to the ancestry definition), and they provide a unique opportunity for studying different aspects of this ethnic group (as well as other ethnic groups).  Since Ukrainians constitute a very small percent of the total US population - 0.3% - there are very few published tabulations with data on Ukrainians.  As the PUMS contain full census records of individuals, as well as housing and household information, the researcher has complete freedom to make tabulations with any combination of variables and analyze different subgroups and/or geographic units.

The census and ACS data contain an extraordinary amount of information on Ukrainians in the US starting in 1980 and, since 2001 the ACS allows one to update this information on a yearly basis.  So far researchers have only scratched the surface of what can be done with these data.  In order to encourage and facilitate research on this topic, the Shevchenko Scientific Society in New York has decided to develop a Research Center for the study of the Ukrainian diaspora in the US.  A basic tool for this research is an integrated data base that allows one to investigate aspects of Ukrainians in the US like:  a) size and basic demographic characteristics; b) geographic distribution and internal migration; c) different migration waves and their impact on the ethnic group; d) education characteristics; e) labor force status and occupation; f) personal, family and household income; g) housing characteristics; h) language use and assimilation; i) intermarriage; j) family and household structure; k) disability status; l) veterans of different wars and military service, etc.

We feel that the development of this Research Center is very timely and important for the following reasons:

1) Since the independence of Ukraine, diaspora's attention, resources and activities have shifted to a large degree to Ukraine and its problems, to the detriment of activities by the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States.

2) Most of our organized community work is still being conducted on an informal basis; planning and implementation are usually done without the benefit of objective quantitative information.  The census and survey data, if properly exploited, can be used to help putting organized diaspora work on a more rational and efficient basis.

3)  These data also provide a unique opportunity for research on the Ukrainian ethnic group from the academic perspective.  They allow researchers to augment the field of ethnic studies in the US with research on Ukrainians, and make contributions to different social and economic disciplines using Ukrainians in the US as a case study.

The Research Center has at least three constituencies: a) academic community (not only in the US but also in Ukraine and other countries; b) diaspora organizations in the US; c) Government of Ukraine.  It provides, free of charge, access to integrated data bases with data from the three censuses and the American Community Survey.  The data comes in two formats - hypercubes with powerful interactive descriptive analysis capabilities, and SPSS files for more sophisticated statistical analysis.  Data in both formats can be downloaded by anybody with access to the Internet.  The data can be used for academic research, and the Research Center will provide funds for grants for student thesis and research papers, as well as financial assistance for conferences and publications.  The data can also be used for applied research by diaspora organizations and the Government of Ukraine, in order to assess the status and potential of Ukrainians in the US, diagnose problems, needs and opportunities, and help develop evidence-based policies and programs.