Docatorate Data Project

National Opinion Research Center, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract- Doctorate Data Project 0208765 The purpose of this acquisition is to procure a data collection, file maintenance, and analysis/ methodological research capability to collect information on persons receiving research doctorate awards from United States universities and to monitor their subsequent experiences in the labor force. The Federal agency with the lead responsibility for this contract is the National Science Foundation (NSF), which is authorized to identify and assess the numbers and characteristics of scientists and engineers in the United States. Other Federal agencies which have related responsibilities for collecting and reporting on persons in other disciplines participate jointly in aspects of this project, so that the total population of individuals of interest is all persons receiving research doctorates, in all fields, for the Survey of Earned Doctorates. Several interrelated activities address the purposes of this acquisition, which is intended to provide comprehensive services for a performance period of 5 years/cycles. Central to the project is the conduct of two major ongoing survey systems, one of which supplies the universe from which the sample for the second survey is drawn. Data from these surveys will be merged with the historical, comprehensive data bases for each survey and also merged with other data bases to provide information on the nation's human resources. The annual census Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) entails the collection of information on every individual receiving a research doctorate from a United States university. Results from the survey are added to the Doctorate Records File (DRF). The SED provides the universe from which a sample is drawn for the Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR), a biennial survey collecting information on the post-graduation employment related characteristics of doctorate-holders in science and engineering. Results from the SDR are combined with other component surveys of the SESTAT data system. The resulting data bases are actively used by the NSF and the other Federal sponsors and numerous other users inside and outside of government. The contractor will also support the dissemination activities of the restricted data files to academic researchers and other government agencies through a licensing agreement. The information collected and maintained through this project constitutes a major national resource, offering the only source of information on this important population. Its accessibility and dissemination are therefore critical. This project will be monitored by the Division of Science Resources Statistics (SRS) as the contract technical representative for NSF and the other Federal agencies that sponsor the SED and the SDR. For the SED, other Federal sponsors as of FY2001 are the U.S. Department of Education (ED), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). For the SDR, the NIH is also a sponsor. In the past, SDR federal sponsors included the Department of Energy (DOE) and the NEH. During the course of the contract, the participation of Federal sponsors may change and necessitate modifications to the coverage of disciplines, distribution of communications, materials, or products related to the project.