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Research at the United States Bureau of the Census Carmen E Research at the United States Bureau of the Census Carmen E. Hoy and Cynthia Z.F. Clark U.S. Bureau of the Census, Washington, D.C. 1. Introduction Statistical and survey methodology research at the U.S. Bureau of the Census (Census Bureau or Bureau) is conducted by a number of researchers throughout the agency, but most of them are concentrated within the Methodology and Standards Directorate. The directorate has three divisions/offices, each of which contains groups of persons with expertise in specific areas of research. Additionally, the directorate oversees sampling and survey methodology and applied research; establishes best practices; and sets standards for the decennial census, for demographic surveys, and for economic census and survey programs of the Bureau. The Statistical Research Division (SRD) works in three main research areas: statistical computing, survey statistics, and survey methodology. • The statistical computing staff specializes in statistical computing, computing applications, and technology research. Statistical computing deals with data editing and imputation, record linkage, and variance estimation. Technology research deals with various technology applications, including graphics and metadata. • The survey statistics staff focuses on sampling, estimation, and small area/domain estimation research; statistical estimation and analysis; disclosure limitation research; and time series and seasonal adjustment research. • The survey methodology staff have expertise in social science research, i.e., questionnaire design and measurement research, usability, questionnaire pretesting, and human factors research. The Planning, Research, and Evaluation Division (PRED) includes groups with interest in administrative records research, survey and census evaluations, and planning for the year 2010 census. The Computer Assisted Survey Research Office (CASRO) coordinates research, develops prototypes, and conducts pretests on computer-assisted survey data collection. 2. Types of Interaction with Academic and Other Researchers On any given research project there may be various opportunities for Bureau staff to interact with academic researchers and researchers at other agencies. Some researchers are funded under contracts with the Census Bureau to conduct research off-site (i.e., at their academic institutions) on the Bureau's priority projects. Some of these contracts with researchers provide for shared expenses and benefits between the contractor and the Census Bureau. For other research contracts the Census Bureau awards a large multi- year and general research contract and pays the entire cost for services rendered. For the general research contract many of the prime contractors are teamed with one or more organizations or have arrangements with outside experts/consultants to broaden their ability to meet all of the potential needs of the Bureau. These contracts allow divisions and offices to quickly and easily obtain outside advisory and assistance services to support their research and development efforts. These contracts undergo public competitive bidding every five years. Winners of the contract work on specific research task orders submitted by the Census Bureau throughout the period of the contract. The Bureau is currently in the second round for these competitive research contracts. Since 1978 the Census Bureau has partnered with the National Science Foundation and the American Statistical Association to solicit research proposals from academics and other researchers to conduct research at the Census Bureau (on-site) through the ASA/NSF/Census Bureau Research Fellow Program. For these research projects, experienced researchers are encouraged to submit research proposals whose results would benefit Census Bureau programs. This program allows researchers with Special Sworn Status to use Census Bureau confidential data that would not be made available to them at their academic sites. This research arrangement facilitates interaction and exchange of knowledge between the senior researcher and the Census Bureau staff. It also exposes the researchers to interesting problems confronting the Bureau. The researchers often work on these problems after returning to their academic institutions, and may interest their graduate students in them — continuing a knowledge exchange over many years. The Census Bureau has several other forums in which staff interact with academic researchers not funded by the agency. Such interactions occur at Bureau-sponsored conferences, workshops, expert review panels, professional advisory committee meetings, and professional meetings. For 12 years (1985 - 1996) the Census Bureau sponsored an Annual Research Conference that brought together researchers from academia and from organizations producing official statistics. This conference was successful in interesting researchers in the work of official statisticians. During 1997-98 the Census Bureau hosted three one-day conferences on, respectively, Censuses of Population and Housing, the American Community Survey, and Small Area Estimation. These conferences also attracted a mix of individuals from academia and from official statistical organizations. In November 1999 the Office of Management and Budget's Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology (FCSM) will, with significant support from the Census Bureau, host the FCSM Research Conference. In June 2000 the Census Bureau will join with other official statistical agencies in sponsoring the Second International Conference on Establishment Surveys. Two ongoing forums are particularly valuable to the Census Bureau. The Bureau has a professional advisory committee, meeting twice yearly for two days, made up of representatives of the American Statistical Association, the Population Association of America, the American Economic Association, and the American Marketing Association. On occasions when in-depth review of a specific survey topic is needed, the Bureau contracts with the National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on National Statistics to create a panel of academic researchers to review the area and make recommendations. Several panels of note have been convened during the past few years, particularly to review census methodology. The three panels were: 1) Panel on Census Requirements in the Year 2000 and Beyond; 2) Panel to Evaluate Alternative Census Methods; and 3) Panel on Alternative Census Methodologies. Two new census panels were initiated recently: Panel to Review the 2000 Census, and Panel on the Census in the Twenty-first Century. Additionally, the Department of Education commissioned a Panel on the Small Area Estimates of Income and Poverty (SAIPE) [estimates that the Census Bureau was producing] providing the basis for distributing $8 billion in funds to local school districts. More recently, a workshop on the newly-initiated American Community Survey (ACS) was held. This was the American Community Survey Workshop - Building a Research Agenda. 3. Examples of Research Projects 3 We have selected several projects in the areas of research mentioned above to illustrate the impact of academic interactions on the statistical and survey research of the Census Bureau. 3.1. Mathematical Statistics Research Disclosure Limitation Methods. The purpose of this research is to develop disclosure limitation methods to be used for Census Bureau data products that are to be made publicly available. Emphasis will be placed on techniques to implement disclosure limitation at the stage of processing. On this project, researchers from academia, other countries, and other agencies have interacted. The Census Bureau has recently funded contracts with Steve Samuels at Purdue University and, through Westat, Inc., with Stephen Fienberg at Carnegie Mellon University. Samuels’ research focused on a measure of disclosure risk for microdata. Fienberg’s research focused on disclosure limitation methods for demographic tabular data. The Bureau plans to fund a contract for the disclosure review of American FactFinder, the computer system that will be used to facilitate user access to Census Bureau data products and user-defined data products. With academics and federal workers from nine different European countries, the Bureau also funded a recent workshop on confidentiality and data access. The focus of the workshop was to coordinate disclosure-limitation research, encourage collaborations, and prioritize research. Attendees will now be seeking funding for this collaborative work. With Census Bureau leadership, the United States will host a follow-up conference in the fall of 2000. In addition, the Census Bureau recently made free cell-suppression and auditing software available to other statistical agencies. All staff in the disclosure limitation research group within the Statistical Research Division are members of the Interagency Confidentiality and Data Access Group (ICDAG), an interest group of the FCSM. ICDAG has done a series of workshops on Privacy, Confidentiality, and the Protection of Data--A Statistical Perspective. ICDAG has prepared a Checklist on Disclosure Potential of Proposed Data Releases which aids people in reviewing data for potential disclosure problems. Other ICDAG products under development include five-dimensional cell-suppression auditing software, a general brochure on confidentiality and data access issues, a review of data licensing procedures, and a manual on restricted access options. Time Series and Seasonal Adjustment Research. For many years there has been significant
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