Brief Overall Description of the Dataset:
Longitudinal surveys tracking numerous individual characteristics over time.
Link: https://www.nlsinfo.org/
Date Inventory Completed: 6/4/15
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 Education: Is the data collected at least the school level? Data is at the individual level, but people can only be placed geographically in one of four US Census regions
- 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?
“The National Longitudinal Surveys (NLS) are a set of surveys designed to gather information at multiple points in time on the labor market activities and other significant life events of several groups of men and women.”
Why is it collected and how does the organization use it?
Yearly interviews (for the 97 cohort) with all participants.
Who else uses the data?
Economists, sociologists, other researchers
Who do they sell the data to?
N/A
Method
What is the data collection method?
In person interview for survey
What is the type of data collected?
Individual preferences, and basic factual information
If designed, who created the questions?
Bureau of Labor Statistics
What is the raw source of the collected data (prior to any aggregation)?
Individual responses to an interview
Description
- What is the general topic of the data (1-2 words)?
Workforce and other information
What are the earliest and latest dates for which data is available?
1997-2012
Is data collected and available periodically?
Yes
How soon after a reference period ends can a data source be prepared and provided?
Approximately 2-3 years.
Selectivity (conversely, the representativeness)
What is the universe (e.g., population) that the data represents (consider inclusion/exclusion criteria)?
8,907 individuals including a representative sample of the US.
Accessibility
How is the data accessed?
Online.
- Is it open data?
Yes, except for geo-coded data.
- Any legal, regulatory, or administrative restrictions on accessing the data source?
Need to fill out application to get geocoded data, have restrictions on what research is used for.
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: Though the data are interesting because individuals can be tracked over time, 2013 data are not available and people can’t even be placed in a state, which would be necessary for associating their characteristics with a certain school system. Though if special permission is given, more specific geographic levels can be obtained. Really just a snapshot of individual experiences across the country.