# ICPSR Personal Names Authority List

> personal name authority file of the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research

**Wikidata**: [Q110305257](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110305257)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/icpsr-personal-names-authority-list

## Summary
The ICPSR Personal Names Authority List is a standardized authority file maintained by the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) to ensure consistent naming conventions for individuals in social science research. It is part of the broader ICPSR Thesaurus, supporting data discovery and disambiguation by providing controlled vocabulary for personal names. Hosted on the ICPSR website, it serves as a critical resource for researchers, archivists, and institutions.

## Key Facts
- **Creator**: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR).  
- **Part of**: ICPSR Thesaurus, which includes names, subjects, organizations, and geographic terms.  
- **Website**: https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/ICPSR/thesaurus/10002 (launched in 1990; English-language content updated as of 2021).  
- **Instance of**: Authority file, thesaurus, and website.  
- **Location**: Created and published in Ann Arbor, United States.  
- **Wikidata Property**: P10328 (ICPSR Personal Names Authority List).  

## FAQs
### Q: What is the purpose of the ICPSR Personal Names Authority List?
A: It standardizes personal name entries to ensure consistency and accuracy in social science research, addressing variations in names (e.g., nicknames, transliterations) that could lead to data confusion.

### Q: Who maintains the ICPSR Personal Names Authority List?
A: It is maintained by the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), a leading international organization for data stewardship.

### Q: How is the ICPSR Personal Names Authority List accessed?
A: It is freely available through the ICPSR website (https://www.icpsr.umich.edu) as part of its thesaurus resources, with content in English.

## Why It Matters
The ICPSR Personal Names Authority List plays a foundational role in social science research by resolving ambiguities in personal name representation. In fields where authorship, collaboration, or subject identification are critical—such as political science, sociology, or economics—this resource ensures that datasets, publications, and archival materials are linked correctly. For example, it helps distinguish between individuals with similar names or accounts for name changes over time, directly impacting the reproducibility and reliability of research. By integrating with the ICPSR Thesaurus, it contributes to a global infrastructure for data sharing and preservation, aligning with ICPSR’s mission to advance scientific inquiry through open access to high-quality data.

## Notable For
- **Specialized Focus**: Unique emphasis on personal names within social science contexts, unlike broader authority files (e.g., VIAF or LCNAF).  
- **Integration**: Functions as a component of the ICPSR Thesaurus, enhancing interoperability with subject and geographic metadata.  
- **Longevity**: Maintained since ICPSR’s early digital initiatives, reflecting decades of institutional expertise in data standardization.  

## Body
### Structure and Content
- The list contains standardized names of individuals relevant to social science research, including researchers, public figures, and historical subjects.  
- Entries are designed to disambiguate names through unique identifiers and contextual metadata.  

### Maintenance and Updates
- **Publisher/Maintainer**: ICPSR, headquartered at the University of Michigan.  
- **Language**: Primarily English, with non-English names transliterated or provided in original scripts as needed.  
- **Update Frequency**: Reflects ongoing ICPSR curation practices, with the website updated as of December 2021.  

### Access and Use
- **Platform**: Hosted on the ICPSR website, launched in 1990 as part of its digital resource offerings.  
- **Audience**: Researchers, librarians, and data scientists relying on consistent naming conventions for citation, analysis, or archival work.  
- **Technical Details**: Accessible via the ICPSR Thesaurus portal, with machine-readable data available for integration into broader digital scholarship tools.