Assessment of Major Federal Data Sets for Analyses of Hispanic and Asian or Pacific Islander Subgroups and Native Americans

Extending the Utility of Federal Data Bases

By:
Joseph Waksberg
Daniel Levine
David Marker

May 2000

Submitted to:
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Submitted by:
Westat, Inc.
1650 Research Boulevard
Rockville, Maryland 20850

This report is available on the Internet at:
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/minority-db00/task3/index.htm

Contents of Report

Section
1	Introduction
	1.1	Content of Report
	1.2	Subgroups and Databases
	1.3	Task 2 Findings
	1.4	Limitations of Report
2	Methodological and Statistical Issues Affecting a Survey's Ability to Produce Adequate Precision
	2.1	Definition of Adequate Precision
	2.2	Examples of Precision Requirements in Federally Sponsored Surveys
	2.3	Design Effects
	2.4	Consistency in Questionnaire Wording
	2.5	Averaging Over Time
	2.6	Combining Data from Several Surveys
	2.7	Response Rate and Other Quality Issues
	2.8	Estimation of Sampling Errors
3	Ability of Current Surveys to Produce Data with Adequate Precision
	3.1	Standards for Precision
	3.2	Effective Sample Sizes Required to Meet Precision Levels
	3.3	Survey Design Effects
	3.4	Nominal and Effective Sample Sizes
	3.5	Surveys and Race/Ethnicity Groups Meeting Standards for Precision
4	Combining Data for Several Years
	4.1	Annual vs. Surveys Carried out at Period Intervals
	4.2	Maximum Number of Years for Reasonable Analysis
	4.3	Effective Sample Size for Combined Years
	4.4	Surveys Meeting Standards for Precision
	4.5	CPS Labor Force Estimates
5	Combining Results from Several Surveys
6	Survey Supplementation
	6.1	Surveys Requiring Sample Supplementation
	6.2	Designs for Sample Supplementation
	6.3	ACS as a Sampling Frame
7	Summary of Findings

List of Tables
Table
3-1	Effective sample size needed for alternative prevalence rates and levels of precision
3-2	Average design effects for minorities
3-3	Approximations of Hispanic sample cases in the data set
3-4	Approximations of Asian and Pacific Islander sample cases in the data set
3-5	Approximations of American Indian or Alaska Native sample cases in the data set
3-6	Effective sample sizes for Hispanics
3-7	Effective sample sizes for API
3-8	Effective sample sizes for American Indians or Alaska Natives
3-9	Adequacy of databases for provision of data with acceptable precision
4-1	Effective sample sizes for Hispanic subgroups, using combined years of data
4-2	Effective sample sizes for API subgroups, using combined years of data
4-3	Effective sample sizes for American Indians or Alaska Natives using combined years of data
A-1	Sources used to provide estimates of design effects

List of Appendices
Appendix
A	Sources Used to Provide Estimates of Design Effects

Table of Contents

Section 1

Assessment of Major Federal Data Sets for Analyses of Hispanic and Asian or Pacific Islander Subgroups and Native Americans

Extending the Utility of Federal Data Bases

Contents of Report

List of Tables

List of Appendices

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