For 50 years, the ISR’s Panel Study of Income Dynamics has charted the socioeconomic, demographic, and family lives of Americans. By following the children of the original cohort, says Frank Stafford – a member of PSID’s foundational team – the study created a “self-sustaining national sample” that tracked effects across generations. This now multigenerational characteristic is “one of the most important parts of the study,” says current PSID director David Johnson.

More about PSID: Charting American families for 50 years >