Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System Data Quality Study

The authors analyze the quality of eight data components from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). The evaluation was limited to data collected over the web from Title IV institutions in 2002-2003 and subsequently modified or "corrected" in 2003-2004, as well as data files available from one of the largest postsecondary education databases maintained by Thomson Peterson's, for comparison. They conclude that IPEDS data were accurate; very few institutions modified their submissions and among those that did, the changes had little impact on the original data. Additionally, information was more likely to be found in IPEDS than in Thomson Peterson's. The results confirm the perception that IPEDS is the most comprehensive data system available for postsecondary education.