Modernizing the Presentation of National Crime Victimization Survey Data

• Activity Number: 33 - Recent Advances in Statistical Graphics
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Sunday, August 7, 2022 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Statistical Graphics
• Author(s): Alexandra Thompson* and Grace Kena and Erika Harrell
• Companies: U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Justice
• Keywords: visualization; dashboard; modernization; dissemination; federal; justice

Abstract

First launched in 2012, the National Victimization Analysis Tool (NVAT) was a very effective and widely used platform for accessing data from the Bureau of Justice (BJS) National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the nation’s primary source of information on criminal victimization. Though the NVAT provided a direct and user-friendly way to work with decades of NCVS data, given recent advancements in technology, the tabular format of the tool had become dated.

In late 2019, BJS analysts partnered with a team of research and data science professionals at RTI International through a cooperative agreement to create a more modern, user-friendly, and visually engaging dashboard. This presentation will describe the collaborative process pursued to conceptualize, develop, and test the tool so as to better engage current users of the NVAT tool and to expand the reach of the NCVS data. In addition, this presentation will cover the various internal agency efforts required to eventually deploy the dashboard in 2021 as well as best practices and lessons learned throughout the process.