VT Census Case Studies : Department of Education - National Household Education Surveys Program

Brief Overall Description of the Dataset:

Education activity

Link: https://nces.ed.gov/nhes/ 

Date Inventory Completed: 6/18/2015

Screening

  • Is the data collected opinion-based? Some
  • Is the data collection recurring (must be collected at least annually)?
  • Is there data available for 2013?
  • For Housing: Is the data collected at the property or housing unit level? 
  • Can we access the data by August 15th?
  • Can the data be linked to other education/workforce datasets (e.g., K-12, higher education, workforce)?

 

Purpose

  • What is the purpose of the organization collecting the data?

National Center for Education Statistics collects data on education for federal policymakers

  • Why is it collected and how does the organization use it?

Collected to supplement data from schools to look at a wide array of issues concerning education

  • Who else uses the data?

Researchers and policymakers

 

  • Who do they sell the data to?

NA


 

Method

  • What is the data collection method? 

Telephone/paper Survey

  • What is the type of data collected? 

Designed collection

  • If designed, who created the questions?

Government

  • What is the raw source of the collected data (prior to any aggregation)? 

Individual Survey responses

Description

 

  • What is the general topic of the data (1-2 words)?

Education information

 

  • What are the earliest and latest dates for which data is available?

1991-2012 non-continuous and varying for different topics

  • Is data collected and available periodically?

No

  • How soon after a reference period ends can a data source be prepared and provided? 

Depends on survey

Selectivity

  • What is the universe (e.g., population) that the data represents?

Sample of all students in the US

Accessibility

  • How is the data accessed? 

On the NCES website

  • Is it open data?

Yes

  • Any legal, regulatory, or administrative restrictions on accessing the data source?

No

  • Cost? - One time or annual or project based payment?

N/A

Does this dataset appear to meet our needs for the Census study? NO

Explanation: Federal level


Full Inventory

Description

  • What is the general contents of the data source?

Education activity in the household

  • Features
    • What is the temporal nature of the data: longitudinal, time-series, or one time point?

Time series

    • Geospatial? If Yes, at what level?

Household

Metadata

  • Is there information available to assess the transparency and soundness of the methods to gather the data for our purposes?

Yes

  • Is there a description of each variable in the source along with their valid values?

Yes

  • Are there unique IDs for unique elements that can be used for linking data?

Yes, but the same people aren’t sampled

  • Is there a data dictionary or codebook?

Yes, for 2012: https://nces.ed.gov/nhes/pdf/userman/NHES_2012_pfi_codebook.pdf 

Selectivity

  • What unit is represented at the record level of the data source?

Individual level

  • Does this universe match the stated intentions for the data collection? If not, what has been included or excluded and why?

Yes, all residential addresses in the US

  • What is the sampling technique used (if applicable)? 

Two stage stratified 

  • What was the coverage?

Unknown

Stability/Coherence

  • Were there any changes to the universe of data being captured (including geographical areas covered) and if so what were they?

No

  • Were there any changes in the data capture method and if so what were they? 

Different surveys are given in different years

  • Were there any changes in the sources of data and if so what were they? 

No, always surveys

Accuracy

  • Any known sources of error?

Yes, sampling errors for calculating weights for full population

  • Describe any quality control checks performed by the data’s owner.

Imputation was performed

 

Accessibility

  • Any records or fields collected, but not included in data source, such as for confidentiality reasons)? 

No

  • Is there a subset of variables and/or data that is must be obtained through a separate process? If yes, is there a separate legal, regulatory, or administrative restrictions on accessing the data source? Cost? - One time or annual or project based payment?

No

Privacy and security

  • Was consent given by participant? If so, how was consent given?

Yes, they filled out the survey

  • Are there legal limitations or restrictions on the use of the data? 

No

  • What confidentiality policies does the source have? 

NA

 

Research

  • What research has been done with this dataset? (e.g., impact of policies, predictors of student success)

Reports on the state of education

  • Include any links to research if provided:

https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/getpubcats.asp?sid=004

  • List any other data use notes provided by the supplier.

NA