Brief Overall Description of the Dataset:
There are many data sets that center around the common theme of “in depth housing and economic data and forecasts.” The data is a mixture of “re-packaged” data from other agencies - such as the Census, Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Association of Realtors, Freddie Mac, etc - “forecasts” the organization itself creates, and surveys the organization conducts (which generate data).
Link:
For forecasts: housingeconomies.com (or http://www.nahbclassic.org/showpage_details.aspx?showpageID=311) - note this is a website that is run by the NAHB.
For surveys: http://www.nahb.org/en/research/housing-economics/housing-indexes.aspx
For ‘re-packaged’: https://www.nahb.org/en/research/housing-economics/construction-statistics.aspx (This is just one example. There are some on the housingeconomies.com site and the NAHB site)
Date Inventory Completed: 5/21/2015
Screening
- Is the data collected opinion-based?
- Is the data collection recurring?
- 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?
Purpose
What is the purpose of the organization collecting the data?
The National Association of Home Builders wants to give information to people regarding the housing industry.
Why is it collected and how does the organization use it?
The information/data is collected to make people “more informed” about the housing industry (to “make more informed decisions”), and certain data is only available by “subscription” - which means some of the data has the dual purpose of also giving the organization money.
Who else uses the data?
Businesses, citizens, and potentially policymakers and researchers
Who do they sell the data to?
They do sell a subscription that gives a subscriber “access” to the forecasts.
Method
What is the data collection method?
Some of the data is obtained from other sources, and some is obtained via forecasting. For the survey data, surveys are sent out and then “indexes” are created from some statistical formulas.
What is the type of data collected?
For the “other sources” data, this could be survey (for unemployment rate) or administrative (for interest rate). For the survey data, this would be a designed collection. For forecasts, they use past data to predict future, so there is not a data collection process.
If designed, who created the questions?
For the survey data, this survey would have been designed by the NAHB.
What is the raw source of the collected data (prior to any aggregation)?
For the survey data, the raw source is the survey results and, for the ‘re-packaged data,’ the raw source is the Census Bureau’s or Bureau of Labor Statistics’ raw data.
Description
What is the general topic of the data (1-2 words)?
Housing, Economy
What are the earliest and latest dates for which data is available?
The beginning dates for each data set vary among data sets. From looking at a sample of data sets, they appear to be up to 2015 (there could be some up to 2014). The forecasts extend beyond 2015 into 2016.
Is data collected and available periodically?
At the very least yearly: some of the data is by quarter or by month.
How soon after a reference period ends can a data source be prepared and provided?
The turn-around time for data seems to be relatively short. The turn-around time would be a few months at most.
Selectivity
What is the universe (e.g., population) that the data represents?
This varies between data sets, but most of the time they are trying to represent the US, a state, or a smaller area within a state. For the specific housing information, some of it is meant to capture the housing industry at the national, state, or smaller region levels.
Accessibility
How is the data accessed?
PDF or Excel
Is it open data?
Some of the data is open (the survey data and the ‘re-packaged’ data), while the forecasts require a subscription.
- Any legal, regulatory, or administrative restrictions on accessing the data source?
I do not believe so.
Cost? - One time or annual or project based payment?
For the data that requires a subscription, you would need to pay the subscription fee.
Does this dataset appear to meet our needs for the Census study? YES
EXPLAIN WHY: This source is good for the Census because it passes the screening questions. It does use data to make "forecasts" - which means it does do "something new" with ACS data. Furthermore, this source conducts its own studies where it surveys home builders; these surveys are individualized data that we may be able to obtain if we put in a request.
Full Inventory
Description
- Features
- What is the temporal nature of the data: longitudinal, time-series, or one time point?
Time-series
- Geospatial? If Yes, at what level?
Some of the data is by state and even by “metro area” within a state (for example, there was one data. However, there does not appear to be any geospatial information beyond this.
Metadata
- Is there information available to assess the transparency and soundness of the methods to gather the data for our purposes?
You can download the data and look at methodology. Therefore, you should be able to assess the transparency.
- Is there a description of each variable in the source along with their valid values?
Yes, you can find a description of many of the variables. This appears to be a reputable site, so we can assume there are valid values. They have compiled the survey results and converted them to indices so, if you want the completely raw data, you would have to contact them directly.
- Are there unique IDs for unique elements that can be used for linking data?
Unknown
- Is there a data dictionary or codebook?
There is not a centralized codebook.
Selectivity
- What unit is represented at the record level of the data source?
For the Economic Data: Ex - Unemployment - would be a proportion of labor force
For the Housing: Individual Homes (not housing units)
- Does this universe match the stated intentions for the data collection? If not, what has been included or excluded and why?
Unkown
What is the sampling technique used (if applicable)?
Random
What was the coverage?
Not found
Stability/Coherence
- Were there any changes to the universe of data being captured (including geographical areas covered) and if so what were they?
Unknown - you would have to go through all of the data (which there is quite a bit of).
- Were there any changes in the data capture method and if so what were they? (e.g., revised questions, data collection mode, classification categories, algorithms for social media data)
The methodology for the surveys is listed with each survey, so any changes should be noted there.
- Were there any changes in the sources of data and if so what were they?
You would need to go through all of the data - which there is a huge quantity of - to determine this.
Accuracy
- Any known sources of error?
No known sources of error.
- Describe any quality control checks performed by the data’s owner.
I did not find any checks listed, but you might be able to find out by calling NAHB directly.
Accessibility
- Any records or fields collected, but not included in data source, such as for confidentiality reasons)?
It does not appear so.
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?
The subscription data. Cost is subscription payment
Privacy and security
- Was consent given by participant? If so, how was consent given?
The survey results definitely had consent given, but we aren’t sure how it was given (It was probably implied when 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?
Unknown
Research
- What research has been done with this dataset? (e.g., impact of policies, predictors of student success)
It has been used for lobbying purposes, and it is reasonable to assume that economic researchers might have used the data.
- Include any links to research if provided:
Unknown
- List any other data use notes provided by the supplier.
Unknown
Gaps/Concerns
- Describe any other notes you have or any gaps/concerns you see with this dataset:
For the surveys, the ones I looked at surveyed NAHB members, so there would be builders left out of the survey if they are not part of NAHB. Therefore, there could be some bias in the data.
Websites:
http://www.nahb.org/~/media/Sites/NAHB/Economic%20studies/137354-graphs_20150421023023.ashx?la=en
http://www.nahbclassic.org/reference_list.aspx?sectionID=872&channelID=311
http://www.nahbmonday.com/houseecon/issues/2014-10-08/
http://www.nahb.org/en/research/housing-economics.aspx
https://www.nahb.org/en/research/housing-economics/construction-statistics.aspx