Using Imputation to Combine Samples with Different Survey Instruments

• Activity Number: 245
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Monday, August 10, 2015 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
• Sponsor: Government Statistics Section
• Author(s): Adam Bee* and Jonathan Rothbaum
• Companies: U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Census Bureau
• Keywords: imputation ; survey redesign ; household surveys ; CPS ; ASEC

Abstract

The Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC) serves as the data source for official income, poverty, and inequality statistics in the United States. In 2014, the CPS ASEC questionnaire was redesigned to improve data quality and to reduce misreporting, item nonresponse, and errors resulting from respondent fatigue. The sample was split into two groups, with 5/8ths receiving the traditional instrument and 3/8ths receiving the redesigned instrument. In this paper, we explore the possibility of using imputation techniques to combine the two subsamples into a single sample that we can use to estimate income and poverty statistics with valid confidence intervals.