May 4 -- The National Science Foundation's National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) invites comment on the 2023 National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG) by July 5, 2022.
NCSES serves as a central Federal clearinghouse for the collection, interpretation, analysis, and dissemination of objective data on science, engineering, technology, and research and development for use by practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and the public.
The National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG) is designed to comply with these mandates by providing information on the supply and utilization of the nation's scientists and engineers. The purpose of the NSCG is to collect data that will be used to provide national estimates on the size, composition, and activities of the science and engineering workforce and changes in their employment, education, and demographic characteristics. The NSCG has been conducted biennially since the 1970s. The 2023 NSCG sample will be selected from the 2021 American Community Survey (ACS) and the 2021 NSCG. By selecting the sample from these two sources, the 2023 NSCG will provide coverage of the college graduate population residing in the United States.
The U.S. Census Bureau, as the agency responsible for the ACS, will serve as the NSCG data collection contractor for NCSES. The survey data collection is expected to begin in February 2023 and continue for approximately seven months. Data will be collected using web and mail questionnaires, and follow-up will be conducted with nonrespondents by computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI). The individual's response to the survey is voluntary. The survey will be conducted in conformance with Census Bureau statistical quality standards and, as such, the NSCG data will be afforded confidentiality protection under the applicable Census Bureau confidentiality statutes.
NSF uses the information from the NSCG to prepare congressionally mandated reports such as Women, Minorities and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering (
https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/women/) and Science and Engineering Indicators (
https://ncses.nsf.gov/indicators), both of which are available online.
A public release file of collected data, designed to protect respondent confidentiality, will be made available on the internet and will be accessible through an online data tool (
https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/ids/).
A statistical sample of approximately 166,000 individuals (106,000 returning sample members and 60,000 new sample members) will be contacted in 2023. Of the new sample members, 5,000 will form a non-production bridge panel, intended to quantify the potential impacts of question modifications on key survey estimates. Based on recent survey cycles, NCSES expects the overall response rate to be 65 to 75 percent.
NSF writes "The NSCG will be largely unchanged from its 2021 design, except that all of the COVID-related items will be removed from the questionnaire such that the content will be returned to what it was in 2019, with updates to reflect the 2023 survey year. Copies of the NSCG questionnaires can be found at
https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvygrads/#qs. No substantive changes to the questionnaire or the data collection methodology are currently planned."
NSCG website:
https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvygrads/ (with information on 2019 NSCG)
FR notice:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2022-09570