NSCG Estimation Issues When Using an ACS-Based Sampling Frame

• Activity Number: 453
• Type: Topic Contributed
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 3, 2011 : 8:30 AM to 10:20 AM
• Sponsor: Section on Survey Research Methods
• Author(s): John Finamore*+ and Stephen Cohen and David Hall and Donsig Jang and Julie Walker
• Companies: National Science Foundation and National Science Foundation and U.S. Census Bureau and Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. and U.S. Census Bureau
• Keywords: NSCG ; Multiple Panel Estimation ; ACS

Abstract

The National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG) is the nation's only source of detailed statistics on the science and engineering labor force. Historically, the NSCG selected its sample once a decade from the decennial census long form respondents. In the 2010 NSCG survey cycle, the NSCG began using the American Community Survey (ACS) as the sampling frame for the NSCG. After considering numerous sample design options proposed by the NSCG survey sponsor, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and reviewed by the Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT), the NSF approved the use of a rotating panel design for the 2010 decade of the NSCG. This rotating panel design allows the NSCG to address certain deficiencies of the previous long form-based design including the undercoverage of key interest groups. However, along with numerous improvements, the use of the ACS as a sampling frame for the NSCG and the implementation of the NSCG rotating panel design also introduced new challenges. This document summarizes the rotating panel design planned for the 2010 decade of the NSCG and discusses results from two research tasks related to NSCG estimation.