Social Science Space

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.

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.