Calibration Estimation and Longitudinal Survey Weights: Application to the NSF Survey of Doctorate Recipients

• Activity Number: 563
• Type: Topic Contributed
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 3, 2011 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Survey Research Methods
• Author(s): Michael D. Larsen*+ and Siyu Qing and Beilei Zhou and Mary A. Foulkes
• Companies: The George Washington University and The George Washington University and The George Washington University and The George Washington University
• Keywords: calibration weighting ; longitudinal study ; panel study ; raking ; SESTAT ; survey sampling

Abstract

The NSF's Survey of Doctorate Recipients is conducted every 2 or 3 years and collects detailed information on individuals receiving PhDs in science and engineering in the U.S. and some others with PhDs from abroad in these areas. Survey weights adjust for oversampling and nonresponse on a cross sectional basis. A significant portion of the sample (e.g., 60% on 3 or more surveys from 1993-2006) appears in multiple survey years and can be linked across time. No longitudinal weight exists that would enable estimation of statistical models or comparison of finite population characteristics using data from multiple survey waves together. This paper explores calibration estimation for construction of such a longitudinal weight. Three requirements are considered when producing longitudinal weights. First, the weight needs to be calculable from existing data. Second, the weight needs to be usefu