Retirement in the 1950s: Rebuilding a Longitudinal Research Database

Area of Science:

• Sociology
• Gerontology
• Public Health

Background:

• The Cornell Study of Occupational Retirement (CSOR) data, collected by Gordon Streib, were inaccessible.
• These data are crucial for understanding historical trends in US retirement and gender dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the data recovery process for the CSOR dataset undertaken by ICPSR.
• To document the resources required for such data recovery initiatives.
• To highlight the research value of the recovered data for the study of retirement and aging.

Main Methods:

• ICPSR initiated a comprehensive data recovery project for the CSOR.
• The process involved extensive efforts to retrieve and restore historical data.
• Paper medical records were also secured for potential future analysis.

Main Results:

• The data recovery project was ultimately successful, making unique retirement data publicly available.
• The paper details the time and costs associated with the data recovery.
• Extensive paper medical records from the 1950s are now housed at ICPSR.

Conclusions:

• The recovered CSOR data provide invaluable insights into US retirement history, particularly concerning gender.
• The project underscores the importance of preserving and recovering historical datasets for future research.
• Future work may involve digitizing the extensive medical records for health-related analyses of aging populations.