Survey Materials:FY 1994 Questions and Answers Booklet

R&D Expenditures Survey

Survey Materials

FY 1994 Questions and Answers Booklet

THIS DOCUMENT ANSWERS COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT THE R&D EXPENDITURES SURVEY.

Field of Science Classifications
- How should I assign field classifications for research and development (R&D) performed in interdisciplinary centers?
- How should I allocate research dollars spent for computing or supercomputing services?
- What fields should be excluded?
- Should faculty practice plan income be included in the survey?
Complex Funding Arrangements
- Should I report expenditures received through cooperative agreements with other institutions?
- How do I distinguish between being a subrecipient of pass-through funds and being a subcontractor of R&D sevices?
Organizational Units
- Which organizational units should I include in the survey?
Questionnaire Items
- How should basic research be calculated?
- How should I report institutional funds?
Data Uses and Availability
- How are these data typically used?
- How are the data made available?

Field of Science Classifications

How should I assign field classifications forresearch and development (R&D) performed in interdisciplinary centers?

Interdisciplinary research should be categorized by individual research projectaccording to the nature of the research performed. When individual projectsencompass multiple fields of science and engineering (S&E), prorateexpenditures to report the proportions of each discipline involved. Do notlump funds together into "other" field categories unless the type of researchis actually defined as "other." NSF recommends crediting such research to theappropriate S&E discipline when the project first begins.

How should I allocate research dollars spent forcomputing or supercomputing services?

Report research dollars spent for computer usage to the individual fields of science and engineering for which the R&D is performed. Do not report these funds in computer science, unless computer science research was performed.

What fields should be excluded?

Exclude fields that are considered to be non-science: education, law, humanities, business, music, the arts, library science, and physical education.Note that you would report separately budgeted R&D for the philosophy of science (a science category), but not philosophy (one of the humanities). The NSF/NCES Crosswalk included with the questionnaire lists all S&E fields.

Should faculty practice plan income be incluededin the survey?

Expenditures for faculty practice plans are not considered research and shouldnot be included. If income from such plans is used to fund other research andthe funds are separately budgeted, then the expenditures should be included ininstitutional funds.

Complex Funding Arrangements

Should I report expenditures received throughcooperative agreements with other institutions?

Report only what your institution actually expends and accounts for when participating in joint research ventures.

How do I distinguish between being a subrecipientof pass-through funds and being a subcontractor of R&D services?

A subrecipient is an entity that receives Federal financial assistance from theState or any other entity to administer a program (OMB Circular A-110). Thesubrecipient actually administers or controls the program, as opposed to thesubcontractor who contracts for a specific service on a per-unit basis. A keyfactor in determining if a subrecipient arrangement exists is determining ifthe entity assumes the responsibility to administer the program. Subrecipientstend to be the co-authors of publications, writers of technical reportsdiscussing findings, inventors, etc. Unlike a subrecipient relationship, asubcontract is a procurement of goods and/or services. Payments tosubcontractors are expenditures for services not expenditures for research, andare different from pass-through funds to subrecipients.

Organizational Units

Which organizational units should I include inthe survey?

Include research conducted through units that are considered part of yourinstitution's organizational structure. For example, report expenditures frombranch campuses, medical schools, agricultural stations, research centers andinstitutes, and any other units whose expenditures are separately budgeted andare accounted for by your institution's financial system. Exclude R&Dexpenditures performed by federally funded research and development centers(FFRDCs), nonprofit institutions, and private laboratories. Do not reportsalaries of faculty doing research at outside institutions unless yourinstitution accounts for the funding of that research.

Questionnaire Items

How should basic research be calculated?

The percentage of basic research should be defined at the individual grantlevel by each principal researcher. Where this is not possible, grants shouldbe reviewed by each department head or other relevant research coordinator. Here is another method used by one institution to estimate the amounts of basicand applied research: All federally funded grants and R&D funded from otheruniversities, foundations, and nonprofit organizations are considered to bebasic research. R&D funds received through Federal cooperative agreements andFederal contracts, all State-funded R&D (except that from the State's AdvancedResearch Program), and R&D funds received from private for-profit institutionsare considered to be applied research.

How should I report institutional funds?

All research dollars reported for your institution should be funds that areseparately budgeted for research purposes. Do not include funds notspecifically budgeted for research. If your institution does not trackunderrecovery of indirect costs, use the underrecovery formula included in thequestionnaire instructions. Do not forget to include and distribute thesefunds by detailed field in survey item 2.

Data Uses and Availability

How are these data typically used?

Congress and Federal and State government planners use the data for sciencepolicy analysis, national and international studies, legislative hearingreports, budget formulation sessions, and other measurements of the adequacy ofthe Nation's research base. Academic institutions use the information forpolicy analysis, publicity, and other purposes. Industrial firms often requestdata to prepare for on-campus recruiting. The data often appear in highereducation studies and publications.

How are the data made available?

NSF's annual report, Academic Science and Engineering: R&D Expenditures,compiles detailed data in a comprehensive document, available on request. NSFalso produces a smaller Selected Data report to disseminate the most recentdata as soon as they are released. Institutional profiles show trend data forresponses at the institutional level from all academic S&E surveys. Detailed data also are available through NSF's electronic Science andTechnology Information System (STIS). The Computer-Aided Science PolicyAnalysis and Research (CASPAR) database provides statistics on CD-ROM. Single-year and multiyear data tapes are also available. Detailed data also are available through NSF's electronic Science and Technology Information System (STIS). The Computer-Aided Science Policy Analysisand Research (CASPAR) database provides statistics on CD-ROM. Single- and multi-year data tapes are also available.

For more information, contact Marge Machen at (703) 306-1772 or mmachen@nsf.gov

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