Enhancing Survey Programs by Using Multiple Data Sources

You saw the workshop, now read the book. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report Toward a 21st Century National Data Infrastructure: Enhancing Survey Programs by Using Multiple Data Sources is available for free download. Here’s the description from the report website:

Much of the statistical information currently produced by federal statistical agencies — information about economic, social, and physical well-being that is essential for the functioning of modern society — comes from sample surveys. In recent years, there has been a proliferation of data from other sources, including data collected by government agencies while administering programs, satellite and sensor data, private-sector data such as electronic health records and credit card transaction data, and massive amounts of data available on the internet. How can these data sources be used to enhance the information currently collected on surveys, and to provide new frontiers for producing information and statistics to benefit American society?

Toward a 21st Century National Data Infrastructure: Enhancing Survey Programs by Using Multiple Data Sources, the second report in a series funded by the National Science Foundation, discusses how use of multiple data sources can improve the quality of national and subnational statistics while promoting data equity. This report explores implications of combining survey data with other data sources through examples relating to the areas of income, health, crime, and agriculture.

The report draws on material from the workshop (I wrote about the workshop in an earlier post) and additional research conducted by the panel members. It was my honor to chair this panel. The third panel in this series is chaired by Jerry Reiter of Duke University and their workshop, Approaches to Sharing Blended Data in a 21st Century Data Infrastructure will be held on May 22, 23, and 25.