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NJPS 2000/01: A vehicle for exploring social structure and social dynamics in the Jewish population

A research note

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Abstract

The American Jewish population has undergone considerable demographic and sociological change in the past few decades. The 2000–01 National Jewish Population Survey (NJPS), a nationally representative sample of about 4,500 American Jews, represents a data collection effort uniquely appropriate for examining the structure and dynamics of the population and sub-groups within the national Jewish community.

This is not an analytical paper in the traditional sense, but rather presents an overview of the organization, research design, sampling design, definitional constructs of defining the Jewish population, questionnaire content, and methodological issues of the NJPS project. In addition, we present an outline of some preliminary research that has been carried out and offer some suggestions as to the utility of the data in a variety of disciplines and content areas. This paper carefully points to the flexibility of the data set for defining the Jewish population in a variety of ways, and the usefulness of the data for academic researchers and community institutions. The data file is in the public domain and is available for use by all who are interested in exploring the contemporary American Jewish population.

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Klaff, V., Mott, F.L. NJPS 2000/01: A vehicle for exploring social structure and social dynamics in the Jewish population. Cont Jewry 25, 226–256 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02965425

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