Statistical Policy Working Paper 6. Report on Statistical Uses of Administrative Records

The first portion of this report provides a review of major administrative report files pertaining to individuals and to businesses. Major statistical uses of administrative records are outlined, including: (1) direct use of the records to obtain statistics and to supplement existing data via expanding coverage or content; and (2) technical uses of the data for constructing sampling frames, quality control, improving on procedures, and data evaluation. New developments in data from business establishment reporting and a number of potential uses of administrative records for data linkage are described. Technical problems in the statistical use of administrative records, including coverage, comparability, error and timing of data are discussed. The final section of the report covers various legal issues in accessing administrative records for statistical purposes. While much statistical use of administrative records is currently made in Federal agencies, this report is intended to inform managerial and technical staffs of the vast potential as well as difficulties entailed in augmenting current uses of administrative records for statistical purposes. References, 106p

Report on Statistical Disclosure Limitation Methodology

Originally Prepared by Subcommittee on Disclosure Limitation Methodology 1994; Revised by Confidentiality and Data Access Committee 2005The Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology (FCSM) was organized by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in 1975 to investigate issues of data quality affecting Federal statistics. Members of the committee, selected by OMB on the basis of their individual expertise and interest in statistical methods, serve in a personal capacity rather than as agency representatives. The committee conducts its work through subcommittees that are organized to study particular issues. Statistical Policy Working Papers are prepared by the subcommittee members and are reviewed and approved by FCSM members. The Report on Statistical Disclosure Limitation Methodology, Statistical Policy Working Paper 22, discusses both tables and microdata and describes current practices of the principal Federal statistical agencies. The original report includes a tutorial, guidelines, and recommendations for good practice; recommendations for further research; and an annotated bibliography. In 2004, the Confidentiality and Data Access Committee (CDAC) revised Statistical Policy Working Paper 22 to include research and new methodologies that were developed over the past ten years, and to reflect current agency practices. The annotated bibliography was partially updated

Statistical Policy Working Paper 15. Measurement of Quality in Establishment Surveys

The Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology was organized by OMB in 1975 to investigate methodological issues in Federal statistics. Members of the committee, selected by OMB on the basis of their individual expertise and interest in statistical methods, serve in their personal capacity rather than as agency representatives. The committee conducts its work through subcommittees that are organized to study particular issues and that are open to any Federal employee who wishes to participate in the studies. Working papers are prepared by the subcommittee members and reflect only their individual and collective ideas. The Subcommittee on Measurement of Quality in Establishment Surveys was formed to document, profile, and discuss the topic of quality in Federal surveys of establishments. In preparing this report, the Subcommittee walked in uncharted territory. Unlike the field of household surveys where there is a rich variety and depth of study in design and practice, the literature specifically pertaining to surveys of establishments is limited. The Subcommittee also found that the lack of a literature was reflected in a lack of standard practice amongst and within the agencies. It is hoped that this report will begin the process of narrowing the variations in design and practice as agencies are able to benefit from a profiling of establishment surveys

Statistical Policy Working Paper 2. Report on Statistical Disclosure and Disclosure: Avoidance Techniques

This report is about techniques for avoiding disclosure of confidential information about individuals (natural and legal persons) in connection with the release of statistical tabulations and microdata files (computerized records pertaining to individual statistical units). The report culminates more than a year's study of potentials for statistical disclosure of confidential information about identifiable (but not identified) units in tabulations and microdata files. The major questions addressed during the year and reported here are as follows: What is the nature of statistical disclosure? -How pervasive a problem is it? -How can agency requirements be translated into specific disclosure-avoidance techniques? How can agency requirements be met without unduly restricting data releases? How do agency disclosure-avoidance practices affect data subjects and data users? In summary, protection of the confidentiality of information about individuals must be balanced against the legitimate needs of society for information

Statistical Policy Working Paper 11. A Review of Industry Coding Systems

The Working Group on Industry Coding was initiated by the Administrative Records Subcommittee of the Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology to review the various existing industry coding systems and study their relationships, comparability and accuracy. The report presents information on the principles and procedures used to classify and code business establishments by industry within the framework of the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. This report is intended primarily for Federal agencies that are responsible for industry coding. The findings and recommendations of this, report emphasize the need for increased interagency cooperation to improve the quality and, comparability of industry codes and reduce the cost and respondent burden of multi-agency coding efforts. A permanent interagency committee is recommended as the mechanism for coordination

Indirect Estimators in Federal Programs

The Subcommittee on Small Area Estimation was formed in 1991 to document the uses of indirect estimators by Federal statistical agencies to prepare and publish estimates. An indirect estimator uses values of the variable of interest from a domain and/or time period other than the domain and time period of the estimate being produced. Users of indirect estimators should consider the errors to which these estimates are subject. Eight programs that publish indirect estimators are described in this report. These programs sometimes respond to legislative requirements or, alternatively, to State data needs. The programs and sponsor agencies are: infant and maternal health characteristics (National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)); personal income, annua1 income, and gross product (Bureau of Economic Analysis); postcensal population estimates for counties (Bureau of the Census (BOC)); employment and unemployment for States (Bureau of Labor Statistics); cotton, rice, and soybean acreage (National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)); livestock inventories, crop production, and acreage (NASS); disabilities, hospital utilization, physician and dental visits (NCHS); and median income for 4-person families (BOC)

Statistical Policy Working Paper 47. Evaluating Survey Questions: An Inventory of Methods

This document was developed by the Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology (FCSM) Subcommittee on Question Evaluation Methodology to provide an inventory of methods used by federal statistical agencies to evaluate survey questions. Since question development methods play a crucial role in assuring the quality of survey questions and the data they produce, this document also includes a section on developing survey questions which outlines important steps in creating the survey questions that will subsequently be tested and evaluated. The question development section is followed by a discussion of question evaluation, a description of data collection methods, and a list of the methods federal agencies use to evaluate survey questions, along with a definition, common uses, strengths, and limitations for each evaluation method

Electronic Dissemination of Statistical Data

The Subcommittee on Electronic Dissemination of Statistical Data was formed in January 1994 to document the use in Federal statistical agencies of electronic means of disseminating data. The report, Statistical Policy Working Paper 24, Electronic Dissemination of Statistical Data, includes several topics, such as Options and Best Uses for Different Media, Operation of Electronic Dissemination Service, Customer Service Programs, Cost and Financing of Electronic Dissemination Service, Latest lnteragency Initiatives, and an Appendix, giving a summary of current Federal agency practices. The report is intended as an aid to statistical agency managers in decision-making about electronic dissemination of publicly-available statistical data. The report was organired and written to transcend the types of media used in the rapidly changing environment for electronic dissemination

Profiles in Success of Statistical Uses of Administrative Data

Administrative data have a variety of statistical uses which often are met only if federal, state or academic partners succeed in developing a data-sharing agreement. In 2008, a cross-agency team of researchers under the sponsorship of the Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology conducted the project \u201cProfiles in Success of Statistical Uses of Administrative Data.\u201d The project examined seven successful data-sharing arrangements between various federal, state and academic entities. It conducted focus groups, via conference calls, with the projects\u2019 original participants who discussed the challenges they faced in developing a cross-agency data-sharing agreement (e.g., a Memorandum of Understanding or MOU) and how those challenges were met. The report considers the statistical uses of administrative records at a broad level. It then describes the design and protocol of the \u201cProfiles in Success\u201d project. The report explains the topics of the seven data-sharing projects chosen for study and how each project bridged data gaps with administrative data

Statistical Policy Working Paper 31. Measuring and Reporting Sources of Error in Surveys

In 1996, the FCSM established a subcommittee to review the measurement and reporting of data quality in federal data collection programs. Many issues revolve around these two broad topics, not the least of which is what is meant by \u201cquality.\u201d Different data users have different goals and, consequently, different ideas of what constitutes \u201cquality.\u201d If defining quality is difficult, then the reporting of quality is also. Reporting \u201cquality\u201d is dependent on the needs of data users and the kind of product\u2014analytic report, technical report or data set, for example, made available to the user. The FCSM subcommittee, whose membership represents the experiences of 12 statistical agencies, took the approach of studying \u201cdata quality\u201d in terms of the measurement and reporting of various error sources that affect data quality: sampling error, nonresponse error, coverage error, measurement error, and processing error