Oct 14 -- The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) in the National Science Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans to request renewal of the Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) for 2022 and 2023 and invites public comment by December 14, 2020.
The SED is part of NCSES' survey system that collects data on individuals in an effort to provide information on science and engineering education and careers in the United States. The SED has been conducted annually since 1958 and is jointly sponsored by four Federal agencies (NSF/NCSES, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Education/National Center for Education Statistics, and National Endowment for the Humanities) to avoid duplication of effort in collecting such data. It is an accurate, timely source of information on one of our Nation's most important resources—highly educated individuals. This request to extend the information collection for three years is to cover the 2022 and 2023 SED survey cycles.
Data are obtained primarily via Web survey from each person earning a research doctorate at the time they receive the degree. Data are collected on their field of specialty, educational background, sources of support in graduate school, debt level, post-graduation plans, and demographic characteristics. NCSES publishes statistics from the survey in several reports.
Data from the survey are published annually on the NCSES website in a publication series reporting on all fields of study, titled Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities. Information from the SED is also included in other series available online: Science and Engineering Indicators; and Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering. In addition, access to tabular data from selected variables is available through the Integrated Data Tool, an online table-generating tool on the NCSES website.
The SED is a census of all individuals receiving a research doctorate from an accredited U.S. academic institution in the academic year beginning 1 July and ending 30 June of the subsequent year. As such, the population for the 2022 SED consists of all individuals receiving a research doctorate in the 12-month period beginning 1 July 2021 and ending 30 June 2022. Likewise, the population for the 2023 SED consists of all individuals receiving a research doctorate in the 12-month period beginning 1 July 2022 and ending 30 June 2023. The most common research doctorate degree is the Ph.D. (Recipients of professional doctoral degrees, such as MD, DDS, JD, DPharm, and PsyD, are not included in the SED.)
The 2022 and 2023 SED are expected to include about 600 separately reporting schools with eligible research doctoral programs from among about 454 doctorate-granting institutions. Based on the historical trend, NCSES expects that approximately 57,000 individuals will receive a research doctorate from U.S. institutions in 2022, and approximately 58,000 in 2023.
A total response rate of 92% of the 55,703 persons who earned a research doctorate from a U.S. institution was obtained in academic year 2019. This level of response rate has been consistent for several years.
SED webpage (with questionnaire and survey design):
https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvydoctorates/
FR notice inviting comment:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/10/14/2020-22626/agency-information-collection-activities-notice-of-intent-to-seek-approval-to-extend-a-current
Point of contact: Kelly Kang, Project Officer, Human Resources Statistics Program, NCSES (703) 292-7796 kkang@nsf.gov
