Amstat News - American Statistical Association

24 amstat news april 2012
in surveys; using web-based
social media to measure job loss,
job creation, small business creation,
and informal economic
activity; using administrative
geospatial data to enhance smallarea
estimates; and investigating
the relationship between public
use, synthetic, and internal versions
of the same data sets.
Development of
Innovative and
Transformative
Approaches to Data
Collection
Principal Investigator: Allan
McCutcheon, University of
Nebraska
This project will focus on
improving survey data collected
from computer-assisted methods.
Objectives include evaluating the
use of four diagnostic tools for
identifying measurement errors
in computer-assisted, interviewer-administered
data-collection
instruments; evaluating the use
of adaptive/responsive designs
in which a dynamic modeling of
collected data is used to modify
the questionnaire as the data are
being collected; and evaluating
the application of calendar- and
time diary-based data-collection
methods to aid in the accuracy
of behavioral self-reports by tailoring
questions to the needs of
individual respondents.
Census Bureau Data
Programs as Statistical
Decision Problems
Principal Investigator: Bruce
Spencer, Northwestern
University
This project will address fundamental
problems for all government
statistical agencies, such
as how to understand the value
of the statistics they produce,
how to compare value to cost in
order to guide rational setting
of statistical priorities, and how
to increase value for given cost.
Researchers will extend and
apply statistical decision theory,
including cost-benefit analysis,
to attack such basic questions.
In addition to generating
new research methods
and using advanced research
practices and procedures, the
researchers will address social
and economic issues addressed
by the federal statistical system.
These issues include
improving survey data collected
from computer-assisted
methods, exploiting new forms
of geographic information, and
ensuring confidentiality of the
data collected and reported.
One more important result
may be improved cost-efficiency
and quality for the data collected
in surveys. Improving censuses
and surveys for the Census
Bureau and other statistical
agencies results in more accurate
statistics for policymakers and
officials to draw more precise
conclusions and make betterinformed
decisions.
“This grant program gives
the Census Bureau and the
entire federal statistical system
the opportunity to leverage the
expertise of academia to solve
problems we face every day in
delivering cost-efficient statistics
and information to the public,”
said Robert Groves, director
of the Census Bureau. “This
research is an investment that
will lead to cost savings, and we
are excited about the possibilities
for learning from our colleagues
and for collaboration over the
next five years.”
The projects also will foster
the development of the next
generation of researchers with
skills relevant for the measurement
of economic units, households,
and people.
“These awards provide a
unique opportunity for researchers
to advance fundamental
understanding of important
issues related to the collection,
analysis, and dissemination of data
in the social, behavioral, and economic
sciences within the context
of salient problems for the federal
statistical system,” said Cheryl
Eavey, program director for NSF’s
Methodology, Measurement, and
Statistics Program.
More information can
be found at www.census.gov/
NCRN or the National Science
Foundation’s NCRN site, www.
nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?p
ims_=503587&org=SBE&from
=home.
Improving the
Interpretability
and Usability of the
American Community
Survey Through
Hierarchical Multiscale
Spatio-Temporal
Statistical Models
Principal Investigator: Scott
Holan, University of Missouri
The American Community
Survey is an ongoing survey
that releases statistics and
estimates annually, providing
communities with the timely
information needed to plan
the distribution of resources
and services. This project will
improve the interpretability
and usability of the survey estimates,
in particular the estimates
for small areas and small
population groups, through the
development of statistical models
that take account of both
changes over time and differences
over geographical space.
In addition, researchers will
provide a variety of methods
that are of independent interest
and can be used in many
other surveys administered by
the Census Bureau and other
federal statistics agencies. n