Research on Survey Methodology

Methodology, Measurement, and Statistics Program (MMS)
in the Division of Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research

Closing Date: 1 March 1999

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

DESCRIPTION

The Methodology, Measurement, and Statistics (MMS) Program in the Division for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research, in collaboration with a consortium of federal statistical agencies represented by the Interagency Council on Statistical Policy (ICSP) and the Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology (FCSM), invites research proposals that further the development of new and innovative approaches to surveys.¹ Although proposals submitted in response to this funding opportunity may address any aspect of survey methodology, priority will be given to basic research proposals that have broad implications for the field in general and that have the greatest potential for creating fundamental knowledge of value to the Federal Statistical System. Because methodological problems often require knowledge and expertise from multiple disciplines, collaborations are especially encouraged among the relevant sciences, including the social sciences, linguistics, cognitive science, statistics, computer science, and economics.

The Federal Statistical System faces the challenge of gathering relevant and reliable data for the next decade and beyond. Researchers should think creatively regarding the development of methods for survey research in the 21^st century. For example, the potential for conducting surveys via the Web raises a host of important methodological questions; issues of nonresponse affect the validity and reliability of survey data; and methods are needed for handling multimedia databases.

Basic research on survey measurement issues, data collection procedures, technological issues related to survey design, and methods for the analysis of survey data has the potential to greatly benefit the Federal Statistical System in particular and the conduct of surveys in general. Potential topics for consideration include but are not limited to:

Measurement Issues:

Decision approaches for determining new data needs and eliminating data items that are no longer needed.
Calibration of and adjustment for measurement errors.
Measurement of complex social concepts such as disability, labor force attachment, poverty, and income inequality.
Measurement of complex social indicators such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Producer Price Index (PPI), or the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Measurement of rare and elusive populations and sensitive topics by network sampling and other methods.
Statistical models of survey measurement errors based on theories from the social and behavioral sciences.
Investigation of rotation group bias in both household and establishment surveys.

Questionnaire Design:

Improvement of procedures for designing and pretesting questionnaires for household and establishment surveys.
Interviewing inflexibility and the conversational aspects of designing questionnaires.
Designing questionnaires that are more understandable to respondents.
Assessment of error and cost effects by data collection mode.
Investigations of the cognitive aspects of survey response heuristics such as forward telescoping, context effects, anchoring effects, and seam effects.

Survey Technology:

Secure and easy-to-use methods of collecting survey data via the Web.
Graphical editing and data imputation.
Providing greater access to complex data such as geo-coded data in spatial displays while assuring confidentiality protection.
Data extraction and exploration techniques.

Analytical Issues:

Innovations that address and overcome reasons for nonresponse.
Integration of information across government surveys.
Geographical estimation, particularly with respect to small areas.
Creative uses of administrative records to supplement surveys or in lieu of surveys.
Analysis of longitudinal data.

¹ The ICSP consists of the heads of the 14 largest statistical agencies and is chaired by the chief statistician of OMB. It was formally established by the paperwork reduction act of 1995 to discuss and determine statistical policy issues. The FCSM consists of experts from within the Federal Statistical System who consider methodological issues of importance to the statistical system. The Federal Statistical System includes 10 agencies that have statistical activities as their principal mission and about 60 agencies that carry out statistical activities in conjunction with other missions, such as providing services or enforcing regulations. (Return to main text)

PROPOSAL REVIEW

NSF Merit Review Criteria

Reviews of proposals submitted to NSF are solicited from peers with expertise in the substantive area of the proposed research or education project. These reviewers are selected by Program Officers charged with the oversight of the review process. NSF invites the proposer to suggest at the time of submission, the names of appropriate or inappropriate reviewers. Care is taken to ensure that reviewers have no conflicts with the proposer. Special efforts are made to recruit reviewers from non-academic institutions, minority serving institutions, adjacent disciplines to that principally addressed in the proposal, etc.

Proposals will be reviewed against the following general merit review criteria established by the National Science Board. Following each criterion are potential considerations that the reviewer may employ in the evaluation. These are suggestions and not all will apply to any given proposal. Each reviewer will be asked to address only those that are relevant to the proposal and for which he/she is qualified to make judgments.

What is the intellectual merit of the proposed activity?

How important is the proposed activity to advancing knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields? How well qualified is the proposer (individual or team) to conduct the project? (If appropriate, the reviewer will comment on the quality of prior work.) To what extent does the proposed activity suggest and explore creative and original concepts? How well conceived and organized is the proposed activity? Is there sufficient access to resources?

What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity?

How well does the activity advance discovery and understanding while promoting teaching, training, and learning? How well does the proposed activity broaden the participation of underrepresented groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity, disability, geographic, etc.)? To what extent will it enhance the infrastructure for research and education, such as facilities, instrumentation, networks, and partnerships? Will the results be disseminated broadly to enhance scientific and technological understanding? What may be the benefits of the proposed activity to society?

Integration of Research and Education

One of the principal strategies in support of NSF’s goals is to foster integration of research and education through the programs, projects and activities it supports at academic and research institutions. These institutions provide abundant opportunities where individuals may concurrently assume responsibilities as researchers, educators, and students and where all can engage in joint efforts that infuse education with the excitement of discovery and enrich research through the diversity of learner perspectives. Principal investigators (PIs) should address this issue in their proposal to provide reviewers with the information necessary to respond fully to both NSF merit review criteria. NSF staff will give it careful consideration in making funding decisions.

Integrating Diversity into NSF Program, Projects, and Activities

Broadening opportunities and enabling the participation of all citizens -- women and men, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities -- is essential to the health and vitality of science and engineering. NSF is committed to this principle of diversity and deems it central to the programs, projects, and activities it considers and supports. PIs should address this issue in their proposal to provide reviewers with the information necessary to respond fully to both NSF merit review criteria. NSF staff will give it careful consideration in making funding decisions.

Review Procedures

Most proposals submitted to NSF are reviewed by mail review, panel review, or some combination of mail and panel review. Proposals submitted in response to this announcement will be reviewed by a multidisciplinary panel consisting of scholars from the relevant sciences. Mail reviews may be solicited at the discretion of the MMS Program Officer. Proposals deemed meritorious also will be ranked for their potential value to the Federal Statistical System by the Survey Research Subcommittee of the FSCM, which will include one representative from each participating agency. Final programmatic recommendations will be made by NSF staff, in consultation with representatives from the Survey Research Subcommittee of the FCSM.

Customer Service Standard

All proposals are carefully reviewed by at least three other persons outside NSF who are experts in the particular field represented by the proposal. Reviewers will be asked to formulate a recommendation to either support or decline each proposal. A program officer assigned to manage the proposal’s review will consider the advice of reviewers and will formulate a recommendation. In most cases, proposers will be contacted by the program officer after his or her recommendation to award or decline funding has been approved by his or her supervisor, the division director. This informal notification is not a guarantee of an eventual award. NSF will be able to tell applicants whether their proposals have been declined or recommended for funding within six months for 95 percent of proposals in this category. In those cases where a proposal is being considered for joint funding by separate divisions, directorates, or agencies, NSF will be able to inform applicants within nine months in 95 percent of proposals. The time interval begins on the proposal deadline or target date or from the date of receipt, if deadlines or target dates are not used by the program. The interval ends when the division director accepts the program officer’s recommendation.

In all cases, after final programmatic approval has been obtained, the recommendation then goes to the Division of Grants and Agreements for review of business, financial and policy implications and the processing and issuance of a grant or other agreement. Proposers are cautioned that only a Grants Officer may make commitments, obligations or awards on behalf of NSF or authorize the expenditure of funds. No commitment on the part of NSF should be inferred from technical or budgetary discussions with an NSF program officer. A principal investigator or organization that makes financial or personnel commitments in the absence of a grant or cooperative agreement signed by the NSF Grants Officer does so at its own risk.

AWARD INFORMATION

Under this announcement, NSF expects to fund 2 to 5 awards, with an approximate duration of 1 to 3 years, and an expected award range of $60,000 to $125,000 per award per year. Multi-investigator projects may be considered for higher levels of funding. We expect that approximately $600,000 will be available for this activity in FY99, $300,000 from NSF and $300,000 from the participating statistical agencies.

PROPOSAL PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION

Proposals submitted in response to this program announcement should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the general guidelines contained in the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG), NSF 99-2. The complete text of the GPG (including electronic forms) is available electronically on the NSF Web site at: http://www.nsf.gov/. Paper copies of the GPG may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone 301.947.2722 or by e-mail frompubs@nsf.gov.

Proposers are reminded to identify the program announcement number (NSF 99-35) in the program announcement/solicitation block on the NSF Form 1207, "Cover Sheet for Proposal to the National Science Foundation." Compliance with this requirement is critical to determining the relevant proposal processing guidelines. Failure to submit this information may delay processing.

Proposals may be submitted either electronically via FastLane or by regular mail.

FastLane Requirements

The NSF FastLane system is available for electronic preparation and submission of a proposal through the Web at the FastLane Web site at http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov. The Sponsored Research Office (SRO or equivalent) must provide a FastLane Personal Identification Number (PIN) to each Principal Investigator (PI) to gain access to the FastLane "Proposal Preparation" application. PIs who have not submitted a proposal to NSF in the past must contact their SRO to be added to the NSF PI database. This should be done as soon as the decision to prepare a proposal is made.

In order to use NSF FastLane to prepare and submit a proposal, the following are required:

Browser (must support multiple buttons and file upload)

Netscape 3.0 or greater
Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or greater

PDF Reader (needed to view/print forms)

Adobe Reader 3.0 or greater

PDF Generator (needed to create project description)

Adobe Acrobat 3.01 or greater
Aladdin Ghostscript 5.10 or greater

For electronic submission of proposals, the proposal MUST be submitted by 5:00 PM, local time, 1 March 1999. Copies of the signed proposal cover sheet must be submitted in accordance with the instructions identified below.

Submission of Signed Cover Sheets. For proposals submitted electronically via the NSF FastLane Project, the signed proposal Cover Sheet (NSF Form 1207) should be forwarded to the following address and received by NSF by 7 March, 1999:

National Science Foundation
DIS-FastLane Cover Sheet
4201 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22230

A proposal may not be processed until the complete proposal (including signed Cover Sheet) has been received by NSF.

A list of registered institutions and the FastLane registration form are located on the FastLane Web page. For questions or problems concerning submitting a proposal via FastLane, please send an e-mail message to flprop@nsf.gov or call 703-306-1142.

Paper Requirements

The original copy and 17 additional copies should be sent in a single package clearly marked "NSF 99-35/SBER - MMS" to:

NSF Proposal Processing Unit (PPU)
4201 Wilson Blvd., Room P60
Arlington, VA 22230

For paper submission of proposals, copies MUST be received by 5:00 PM, ET, 1 March, 1999. The delivery address must clearly identify the NSF announcement or solicitation number under which the proposal is being submitted.

AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

Notification of the Award

Notification of the award is made to the submitting organization by a Grants Officer in the Division of Grants and Agreements. Organizations whose proposals are declined will be advised as promptly as possible by the cognizant NSF Program Division administering the program. Verbatim copies of reviews, not including the identity of the reviewers, will be provided automatically to the Principal Investigator.

Grant Award Conditions

An NSF grant consists of: (1) the award letter, which includes any special provisions applicable to the grant and any numbered amendments thereto; (2) the budget, which indicates the amounts, by categories of expense, on which NSF has based its support (or otherwise communicates any specific approvals or disapprovals of proposed expenditures); (3) the proposal referenced in the award letter; (4) the applicable grant conditions, such as Grant General Conditions ( NSF GC-1)* or Federal Demonstration Partnership Phase III (FDP) Terms and Conditions* and (5) this funding opportunity announcement. Electronic mail notification is the preferred way to transmit NSF grants to organizations that have electronic mail capabilities and have requested such notification from the Division of Grants and Agreements.

* These documents may be accessed electronically on NSF’s Web site at: http://www.nsf.gov/. Paper copies may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone 301.947.2722 or by e-mail from pubs@nsf.gov.

Cooperative agreement awards also are administered in accordance with NSF Cooperative Agreement Terms and Conditions (CA-1 ). More comprehensive information on NSF Award Conditions is contained in the NSF Grant Policy Manual (GPM) Chapter II, (NSF 95-26) available electronically on the NSF Web site. The GPM also is available in paper copy by subscription from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. The GPM may be ordered through the GPO Web site at: http://www.gpo.gov.

Reporting Requirements

For all multi-year grants (including both standard and continuing grants), the PI must submit an annual project report to the cognizant Program Officer at least 90 days before the end of the current budget period.

Within 90 days after expiration of a grant, the PI also is required to submit a final project report. Approximately 30 days before expiration, NSF will send a notice to remind the PI of the requirement to file the final project report. Failure to provide final technical reports delays NSF review and processing of pending proposals for that PI. PIs should examine the formats of the required reports in advance to assure availability of required data.

NSF has implemented a new electronic project reporting system, available through FastLane, which permits electronic submission and updating of project reports, including information on: project participants (individual and organizational); activities and findings; publications; and, other specific products and contributions. Reports will continue to be required annually and after the expiration of the grant, but PIs will not need to re-enter information previously provided, either with the proposal or in earlier updates using the electronic system.

Effective October 1, 1998, PIs are required to use the new reporting format for annual and final project reports. PIs are strongly encouraged to submit reports electronically via FastLane. For those PIs who cannot access FastLane, paper copies of the new report formats may be obtained from the NSF Clearinghouse as specified above. NSF expects to require electronic submission of all annual and final project reports via FastLane beginning in October, 1999.

New Awardee Information

If the submitting organization has never received an NSF award, it is recommended that the organization’s appropriate administrative officials become familiar with the policies and procedures in the NSF Grant Policy Manual which are applicable to most NSF awards. The "Prospective New Awardee Guide" ( NSF 97-100) includes information on: Administration and Management Information; Accounting System Requirements and Auditing Information; and Payments to Organizations with Awards. This information will assist an organization in preparing documents that NSF requires to conduct administrative and financial reviews of an organization. The guide also serves as a means of highlighting the accountability requirements associated with Federal awards. This document is available electronically on NSF’s Web site at: http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?nsf97100.

INQUIRIES

Inquiries regarding this announcement should be directed to:

Cheryl L. Eavey
Program Director, Methodology, Measurement, and Statistics
4201 Wilson Blvd., Room 995
Arlington, VA 22230
703.306.1729 (voice)
703.306.0485 (FAX)
ceavey@nsf.gov

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRENT MMS ACTIVITIES

The activity represents a new area of emphasis for the MMS Program. Additional information on the MMS Program is available on the MMS Home Page at the following address: http://www.nsf.gov:80/sbe/ses/mms/start.htm. The MMS Workshop Report, "Methodological Advances and the Human Capital Initiative," addresses in greater detail many of the illustrative research topics mentioned in this announcement. The text of the workshop report is available on the MMS Home Page.

OTHER PROGRAMS OF INTEREST

The NSF Guide to Programs is a compilation of funding opportunities for research and education in science, mathematics, and engineering. General descriptions of NSF programs, research areas, and eligibility information for proposal submission are provided in each chapter. Beginning in fiscal year 1999, the NSF Guide to Programs only will be available electronically. Many NSF programs offer announcements concerning specific proposal requirements. To obtain additional information about these requirements, contact the appropriate NSF program offices listed in Appendix A of the GPG.

Any changes in NSF's fiscal year programs occurring after press time for the Guide to Programs will be announced in the E-Bulletin, available electronically on the NSF Web site at: http://www.nsf.gov/ The direct URL for recent issues of the E-Bulletin is http://www.nsf.gov/home/ebulletin/. Subscribers can also sign up for NSF's Custom News Service to find out what funding opportunities are available.

CONSORTIUM AGENCIES
Department of Agriculture

National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)

Economic Research Service (ERS)

Department of Commerce

Bureau of the Census

Bureau of Economic Analysis

Department of Education

National Center for Education Statistics

Department of Energy

Energy Information Administration

Department of Health and Human Services

National Center for Health Statistics

Department of Justice

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Department of Labor

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Department of Transportation

Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Department of Treasury

Statistics of Income Division, IRS

Other Agencies

Social Security Administration
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The National Science Foundation (NSF) funds research and education in most fields of science and engineering. Grantees are wholly responsible for conducting their project activities and preparing the results for publication. Thus, the Foundation does not assume responsibility for such findings or their interpretation.

NSF welcomes proposals from all qualified scientists, engineers and educators. The Foundation strongly encourages women, minorities, and persons with disabilities to compete fully in its programs. In accordance with federal statutes, regulations, and NSF policies, no person on grounds of race, color, age, sex, national origin, or disability shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving financial assistance from NSF (unless otherwise specified in the eligibility requirements for a particular program).

Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities (FASED) provide funding for special assistance or equipment to enable persons with disabilities (investigators and other staff, including student research assistants) to work on NSF-supported projects. See the program announcement or contact the program coordinator at (703) 306-1636.

The National Science Foundation has Telephonic Device for the Deaf (TDD) and Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) capabilities that enable individuals with hearing impairments to communicate with the Foundation regarding NSF programs, employment, or general information. TDD may be accessed at (703) 306-0090 or through FIRS on 1-800-877-8339.

Privacy Act And Public Burden Statements

The information requested on proposal forms and project reports is solicited under the authority of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended. The information on proposal forms will be used in connection with the selection of qualified proposals; project reports submitted by awardees will be used for program evaluation and reporting within the Executive Branch and to Congress. The information requested may be disclosed to qualified reviewers and staff assistants as part of the review process; to applicant institutions/grantees to provide or obtain data regarding the proposal review process, award decisions, or the administration of awards; to government contractors, experts, volunteers and researchers and educators as necessary to complete assigned work; to other government agencies needing information as part of the review process or in order to coordinate programs; and to another Federal agency, court or party in a court or Federal administrative proceeding if the government is a party. Information about Principal Investigators may be added to the Reviewer file and used to select potential candidates to serve as peer reviewers or advisory committee members. See Systems of Records, NSF-50, "Principal Investigator/Proposal File and Associated Records," 63 Federal Register 267 (January 5, 1998), and NSF-51, "Reviewer/Proposal File and Associated Records," 63 Federal Register 268 (January 5, 1998). Submission of the information is voluntary. Failure to provide full and complete information, however, may reduce the possibility of receiving an award.

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 120 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions. Send comments regarding this burden estimate and any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: Reports Clearance Officer; Information Dissemination Branch, DAS; National Science Foundation; Arlington, VA 22230.

Year 2000 Reminder

In accordance with Important Notice No. 120 dated June 27, 1997, Subject: Year 2000 Computer Problem, NSF awardees are reminded of their responsibility to take appropriate actions to ensure that the NSF activity being supported is not adversely affected by the Year 2000 problem. Potentially affected items include: computer systems, databases, and equipment. The National Science Foundation should be notified if an awardee concludes that the Year 2000 will have a significant impact on its ability to carry out an NSF funded activity. Information concerning Year 2000 activities can be found on the NSF web site at http://www.nsf.gov/oirm/y2k/start.htm.

CFDA No. 47.075
OMB No. 3145-0058
P.T. 34
K.W. 0404050
0404021

NSF 99-35