Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/TimothyTriplett

In this "Five Question" feature, Tim Triplett, a research methodologist and part of Urban Institute's new Statistical Methods Group, talks about Lessons Learned from the National Survey of America's Families (NSAF). The experience of conducting NSAF demonstrates the necessity of flexibility in survey design. Proxies, incentives, and other survey methodologies are discussed.

The cornerstone of the ANF project was the National Survey of America's Families (NSAF), a survey of the economic, health, and social characteristics of children, adults under the age of 65, and their families. Conducted in 1997, 1999, and 2002 to gather information during each round on more than 100,000 people and more than 40,000 families across the country, the NSAF allowed researchers to watch national trends emerge. This report summarizes the pioneering steps and major accomplishments of the survey methods used to complete the NSAF, while acknowledging key challenges and important lessons for future household surveys.

This report focuses on the characteristics of nonrespondents to the 2002 NSAF and assesses the impact of nonreponse on the NSAF statistics. It includes analysis of the effectiveness of the call attempt and refusal conversion strategies across all three rounds of NSAF data collection, providing some insights on how the level of effort affects the quality of the data by reducing nonresponse. This report also includes a sociodemographic comparison of nonrespondents using census block information obtained for 2002 nonrespondents and respondents.

This report focuses on the data editing techniques and imputations that were unique to the 2002 NSAF data processing steps. It is a supplement to the 1997 and 1999 NSAF data editing reports (No. 10 in both series), and does not reiterate the data editing techniques, data processing, and coding guidelines documented in these prior reports.

This report is a collection of occasional papers on technical issues in the design, implementation, and operation of the 2002 round of the NSAF. It is a companion report to the 1999 methodology series Report No. 7 NSAF Collection of Papers and the 1997 methodology series Report No. 16 NSAF Technical Papers. All the papers in this collection were presented at either the annual May American Association for Public Opinion Research conference or the annual August Joint Statistical Meetings.

This report, prepared for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, reviews existing data sources and prior research on six programs operated by the Department that provide food assistance to American Indians living on or near reservations. The purpose of the review is to help identify future research needs and opportunities to exploit administrative data systems and recurring national surveys. The programs covered are the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), the Food Stamp Program (FSP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP). Research topics of continuing importance include the impacts of reservation food assistance on health and nutrition, the characteristics that make nutrition education effective on reservations, the dynamics of program participation, and the contribution of tribal administration to program coordination.

This report provides documentation for the 1997-2002 NSAF Public Use Files, each set of which includes data on approximately 42,000 households, yielding information on over 100,000 people. This report gives an overview of the survey, describes the sample design and methodology used, and discusses the limitations on use of the survey data. After providing an overview of the NSAF data, it also describes how to use the data files, and offers instructions and examples on how to use the NSAF survey weights.

This report in the Round Three Methodology Series provides readers with an introduction to the National Survey of America's Families, its sample design, data collection techniques, and estimation methods. An overview is also provided describing the survey's dual-frame design, the format of interviews, and the types of questions asked. In addition, the methods used to minimize errors and compensate for those that are unavoidable in data collection are described. Finally, the report presents information on the survey's resulting reliability--both in terms of sampling and nonsampling errors.

This report in the Round Three Methodology Series focuses on the 2002 NSAF questionnaire. The introductory chapter describes the household screener and extended interview. In addition, the chapter covers respondent selection, types of NSAF interviews, and the NSAF family definition so that the reader may gain a better understanding of the NSAF questionnaire. The second chapter describes differences in the survey instruments between the 1999 and 2002 NSAF surveys. The remainder of the report provides the full text of the 2002 questionnaire.

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