Lessons Learned Using Statistical Standards To Improve/Ensure Data Quality

• Activity Number: 41
• Type: Invited
• Date/Time: Sunday, July 29, 2007 : 4:00 PM to 5:50 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Survey Research Methods
• Author(s): Marilyn Seastrom*+
• Companies: National Center for Education Statistics
• Keywords: Standards ; data quality ; nonresponse bias ; response rates ; timeliness ; imputations

Abstract

NCES issued revised Statistical Standards in 2002 that touch on many of the topics covered in the 2006 OMB Statistical Standards and Guidelines for Statistical Surveys. One component of the Statistical Standards Program at NCES is the monitoring of the implementation of the NCES standards. These activities provide the basis for monitoring the timeliness of NCES data collections, tracking trends in unit, overall, and item response rates over time; monitoring whether the use of incentives impacts trends in response rates; tracking the number of NCES data collections requiring unit level nonresponse bias analyses, whether the results of those analyses are used in nonresponse weight adjustments, and the impact of those adjustments on the amount of measurable bias; and evaluating when imputations are used to account for item nonresponse.