Expected yield rates are essential to a survey's data collection plan, as they inform requisite sample sizes to meet the survey's objectives. Given an overall expected yield rate for a self-administered mail survey, this short take describes a simple method for using the Census Planning Database to assign differential yield rates to lower-level…

This research note argues the outdoor adventure profession needs census research studies. Although conceptually simple, a census is a laborious process needing methodological guidance. This paper provides suggestions for conducting a census. Four previous outdoor adventure census projects are referenced. These, along with the U.S. Census, are used…

Measuring race and ethnicity for administrative data sets and then analyzing these data to understand racial/ethnic disparities present many logistical and theoretical challenges. In this chapter, we conduct a synthetic review of studies on how to effectively measure race/ethnicity for administrative data purposes and then utilize these measures…

Collecting the perfect data to answer a research question is optimal but not always feasible. Sometimes existing data can be leveraged to answer some questions, but this opportunity comes with important potential pitfalls. To test the effect of early life exposures such as being born preterm or living in a materially deprived neighborhood on early…

Although I am an economic geographer trained in the United States, most of my research has been conducted in Germany or Canada. Thus, I developed my disciplinary schema in a context different from the one where I now use it. This US-focused training taught me that before one examines the local dynamics of a particular industry, labor market, or…

This paper examines various estimates of the Samoan population in the United States and assesses their relation to 1980 census data. Because Samoans were enumerated for the first time as a separate group, because there are no national records of Samoan births and deaths, and because there are no data on migration to the United States or movement…

Examines the potential impact of the revised standards for race and ethnicity on data from the 2000 census and public health data sources, policies, and programs. Results indicate that the multiple-race group comprises a small percentage of the American population and may have little impact on data for single-race groups. Actual effects will vary…

This paper serves as an example of how one may approach the use of a large database for comparative education purposes. Considerations include determining three aspects about the databases, and one case study. The three aspects include the type of database that is used, the method in which the data were collected and errors, and the structure of…

Challenges the reliability of data sets by pointing out the following pitfalls in major census data: (1) changes in the definition of racial/ethnic categories and (2) the question of gender in determining household composition, paid/unpaid work, occupation, employment status, and poverty. (SK)

The Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) is an integrated set of surveys that has been conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in 1987-88, 1990-91, and 1993-94. In each of those school years, the Census Bureau also conducted a reinterview of the administrators, schools, and teachers. This report…

Census data and California school data on Latino ethnicity and language illustrate how two bilingual-education constructs, "non-English language background" and "limited-English proficient," are useful but have loosened the traditional ethnicity-language relationship, affecting research and educational policy. New census…

The most feasible method for constructing a Navajo population register was to produce a preliminary register from data contained in existing records and to perfect and extend this register either through subsequent clerical and record-accumulating operations, the existing school census operation, a special program of field enumeration, or a…

Ethnographic methods were integrated with survey procedures in an experimental daytime count of homeless persons in a major city. Ethnographic data proved valuable for choosing sites, designing questionnaires, developing new interview approaches, and interpreting test results. Recommends a wider use of ethnographic insights in developing surveys,…

Data from death records of 1,906 Catholic parishes and other entities in 11 Texas dioceses during January to June 1980 were used to estimate sensitivity of Hispanic population data to various identifications of "Hispanic." Self-identification as Hispanic, as on the 1980 census, appeared unreliable; the Census Bureau was expected to…

The Panel on Decennial Census Methodology met during the year 1984 to investigate the following technical issues related to the 1990 United States census: (1) adjustment of census counts and characteristics; (2) sampling; and (3) administrative records. A number of recommendations were made. It was suggested that a low priority be given to…