Social Science Space

When most Americans think of the census, they think of the 10-year or decennial census that is used to gather basic data about the total population. The decennial census is an actual count of people and housing units, and it serves as the baseline for measuring and generating other census data-sets…

Geographer Frank Donnelly notes that census geography and maps are not automatically reliable – they can be used to intentionally skew research findings.

Starting this month Social Science Space will begin offering monthly updates on U.S. government actions that affect the social and behavioral sciences. In this first edition, we look at reauthorization of funding for the National Science Foundation, the effect of an Obamacare repeal on social science, and concerns for the American Community Survey and GIS data on housing.

This election season, spare a thought for the travails of the American national Election Study and two other data-rich surveys promoted — and protected — by the National Science Foundation’s Social, Behavioral and Econoic directorate.

UPDATED with COSSA analysis: Social and behavioral science funded by the U.S. government appears to have received an early Christmas present as leaders in the House of Representatives unveiled a $1.1 trillion spending bill to keep the federal enterprise funded in 2016.

UPDATED: The National Science Board hopes it can muster support to save a question in the annual American Community Survey that tells us how many undergrads are taking science and research degrees. And a suite of questions on marriage trends is also facing the ax.

Survey researchers are increasingly unable to get people to respond to surveys. This is a real worry because nonresponse can lead to biased research and because nonresponse poses a significant threat to the federal statistical system in its entirety.