Microdata are the "raw" data, composed of individual records containing information collected on the research subjects being studied. The unit of observation is usually the individual, but can be the household, family, etc. For example, a microdata file will contain the responses of each person to different questions in a survey.
Microdata stand in contrast to more familiar "summary" or "aggregate" data. Aggregate data are compiled statistics, such as a table of marital status by sex that summarizes the responses obtained from a survey.
Microdata are inherently flexible. One need not depend on published statistics from a survey that compiled the data in a certain way. Users can generate their own statistics from the data in any manner desired, including individual-level multivariate analyses.
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