Small Populations, Large Effects Improving the Measurement of the Group Quarters Population in the American Community Survey (2012) / Chapter Skim
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3 American Community Survey Data Products, Data Uses, and Data Needs
3 American Community Survey Data Products, Data Uses, and Data Needs
Pages 33-44
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From page 33... ...
In addition, several other federal and private survey efforts focus specifically on segments of the GQ population (generally at a national level) , raising the ques tion of whether there is any redundancy of effort and overlap with the GQ data collection in the ACS.
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From page 34... ...
The goal of the meeting was to gain a thorough understanding not only of what data users' needs are, but also of how the GQ data are used and to discuss enhancements and alternatives to the current ACS design and methodologies. In reviewing data user needs, the panel was also assisted by consultants who were asked to examine federal as well as state and local uses of the ACS GQ data, including uses for funding allocation and to meet programmatic needs.
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From page 35... ...
Selected data tables report a breakdown of the total population into those living in households (often accompanied by additional characteristics) and those living in group quarters (with limited detail)
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From page 36... ...
at the na tional, regional, census division, and state levels. S2601B: characteristics of the GQ population by GQ type (total population, total GQ population, adult correctional facilities, nursing facilities, college/ university housing)
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From page 37... ...
In connection with this, it is important to note that the data user workshop and the research conducted by the panel's consultants took place in the second half of 2010, before the first data release based on 5 years of ACS data. Although information about the Census Bureau's plans for the 5-year data products had been available prior to the release date, there was some con fusion among data users about the level of detail that was going to be available for the GQ populations.
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From page 38... ...
The data used by these programs include total population estimates, commuting data to define metropolitan areas, and income data. ACS data are also widely used by state and local organizations, includ ing government organizations.
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From page 39... ...
Again, some data users are interested primarily in information about the total population for an area, and they are concerned about the effects of group quarters on the total population characteristics in particular. Many would be satisfied with estimates of the size of the GQ population that are accurate and reliable in small areas, especially if the numbers were available by GQ type, because this would provide clues as to how the presence of different GQ types may affect the total population estimates.
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From page 40... ...
Sources of information about specific GQ types include the periodic censuses of prisons and jails conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, periodic surveys of nursing homes by the National Center for Health Statistics, and information collected by the National Center for Education Statistics on enrollment in colleges and universities. However, these are not potential substitutes for the ACS data, either, because they generally do not provide the same geographic detail as the ACS aims to do (acknowledging that the ACS in its current form does not provide charac teristics information about the GQ population below the state level, either)
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From page 41... ...
, they understood that compromises would have to be made in order to maintain the GQ data as part of the total population data. Some participants indicated that they were open to statistical solutions, such as modeling the data to provide information about group quarters not in the sample.
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From page 42... ...
Specifically, there is little doubt about the importance of incorporating the GQ population into the total population estimates for small areas. There are many data users whose primary interests are in one or more specific GQ types, and they would benefit from more data about the GQ population.
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From page 43... ...
Some of the GQ questionnaires in the ACS are also completed on the basis of administrative records rather than interviews, but the GQ data collection is still conceptualized as interviews with GQ residents. An evaluation of the quality and scope of administrative records available from different types of GQ facilities could enable the Census Bureau to make greater use of administrative records for ACS data collection for portions of these populations.
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