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Guidelines
The Department of Education reports data that rely upon information provided
by third parties. These data draw upon aggregates from student record systems
or other administrative data (e.g., universe studies, including censuses,
and other reports based on aggregate administrative data). These data rely
upon information provided by third parties. Because of this, the Department
does not have full control over the quality of the reported data; the Department
intends to, however, identify the source of the information and any shortcomings
or limitations of the data if we rely upon it for decision-making purposes.
This will facilitate the public's understanding of the strengths and potential
weaknesses of these data. Furthermore, as an additional insurance of quality,
these data should meet the criteria that are being developed as part of an
ongoing Department-wide data standardization and coordination initiative. At
a minimum, these standards will require the following:
- In formulating a data collection plan the goals of the study should be
clearly described;
- The subjects to be studied and the data to be collected should be clearly
defined, using broadly understood concepts and definitions that are consistent
with Department data definition handbooks;
- The research study approach or data collection techniques should be well
thought out and designed to use state-of-the-art methodologies in the data
collection, and should be clearly described in the study documentation;
- In designing the work, every effort should be made to minimize the amount
of time required for responding institutions;
- The source of research information or data should be reliable. Data should
be collected with survey instruments that have been properly developed and
tested;
- Response rates should be monitored during data collection. When necessary,
appropriate steps should be taken to ensure the respondents are representative
of the population;
- When applicable, care should be taken to ensure the confidentiality of
personally identifiable data, as required by law, during the collection,
processing, and analysis of the data;
- Upon completion of the work, the findings and data should be processed
in a manner sufficient to ensure that the data are edited to help ensure
that the data are accurate and reliable;
- The findings and data collection should be properly documented and stored,
and the documentation should include an evaluation of the quality of the
data with a description of any limitations of the data. In particular, any
known limitations of the information should be documented (e.g., missing
values, amount of nonresponse);
- The analysis should be selected and implemented to ensure that the data
are correctly analyzed using modern statistical techniques suitable for hypothesis
testing. Techniques may vary from simple tabulations and descriptive analysis
to multivariate analysis of complex interrelationships. Care should be taken
to ensure that the techniques are appropriate for the data and the questions
under inquiry;
- All work should be conducted and released in a timely manner;
- Reports using these data should identify the source(s) of the information,
including a citation. Reports should also include:
- The reason the information is provided, its potential uses, and cautions
as to inappropriate extractions or conclusions.
- Descriptions of any statistical techniques or mathematical operations
applied to the data.
- The identification of other possible sources of potentially corroborating
or conflicting information; and
- Prior to dissemination, all reports, data, and documentation should undergo
editorial and technical review to ensure accuracy and clarity.
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Last Modified: 10/17/2005
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