VT Census Case Studies : Construction Statistics

Brief Overall Description of the Dataset:

The Construction Statistics dataset is a collection of permit records from building permit-issuing offices across the United States. Data is collected monthly on a smaller scale and annually on a large scale. This dataset is mainly used to understand construction trends in the United States and develop and evaluate current housing policy.

Dataset is focused on construction rather than housing characteristics. Might be useful to new characteristics of new housing

Link: :http://www.census.gov/mcd/

Date Inventory Completed: 06/17/2015

Screening

• Is the data collected opinion-based?
• Is the data collection recurring (must be collected at least annually)?
• Is there data available for 2013?
• Is the data collected at the property or housing unit level?
• Can we access the data by August 15^th?

Purpose

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

“The purpose of the Survey of Construction is to provide current national and regional statistics on starts, completions, and characteristics of new, privately-owned single-family and multifamily housing units and on sales of new single-family houses. The United States code, Title 13, authorizes this survey and provides for voluntary responses. The Department of Housing and Urban Development partially funds this survey.”

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

“The Bureau of Economic Analysis uses the estimates in development of the national income and product accounts. The Federal Reserve Board and Council of Economic Advisers use the estimates to determine the condition of the economy. The Department of Housing and Urban Development uses the estimates to develop and evaluate housing programs.

Manufacturers use estimates to plan production schedules and establish market shares. Insurance companies use estimates to adjust rates and establish replacement costs. Financial institutions use data to estimate mortgage demand.”Who else uses the data?

• Who do they sell the data to?

businesses, researchers, policy makers

• Who do they sell the data to? 

Anyone

Self-reported

Description

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

Construction

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

1968-2015

• Is data collected and available periodically?

monthly and quarterly

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

Not specified 

Selectivity

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

New construction in the United States

Accessibility

• How is the data accessed? 

Downloaded

• Is it open data?

Yes

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

None

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

None

Does this dataset appear to meet our needs for the Census study? Yes

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?

Census Tracts

Metadata

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

None specified

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

None specified

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

None specified

• Is there a data dictionary or codebook?

None specified

Selectivity

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

Property

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

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

Random

• What was the coverage?

“To provide nationwide coverage of building activity, a multi-stage stratified random sample procedure was used to select approximately 900 building permit-issuing offices, and a sample of more than 70 land areas not covered by building permits.”

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? 

More specific questions regarding completeness and progress have been added over the years, but not much change recently.

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

No

Accuracy

• Any known sources of error?

Unknown

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

Unknown

Accessibility

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

Unknown

• 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, by returning the data

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

No

• What confidentiality policies does the source have? 

Does not include PII

Research

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

Unknown; none listed

• Include any links to research if provided:
• List any other data use notes provided by the supplier.
  
  

Gaps/Concerns

• Feasibility - can all jurisdiction levels provide the data (if applicable)?
• Data ownership - a lack of clarity in legal guidance stemming from a lack of clarity with who owns digital data?
• Data collection authority - what data is reasonably private and what constitutes unwarranted intrusion?
• Describe any other notes you have or any gaps/concerns you see with this dataset: