General Notes

The data presented in this report were compiled from the National Science Foundation (NSF) FY 2011 Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey. The HERD Survey is a revision of the previous annual collection, the Survey of Research and Development Expenditures at Universities and Colleges, which was conducted from FY 1972 through FY 2009. ICF International currently conducts the survey under contract to NSF.

The survey is conducted annually, and its reference period is the fiscal year of the surveyed institution. It collects the separately budgeted research and development expenditures reported by universities and colleges.

Data from HERD are available at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/herd/ and in the WebCASPAR database (http://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/webcaspar/). WebCASPAR currently contains data through 2011. Selected data from the survey are included in Academic Institution Profiles (http://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/profiles/).

Terms used in institutional accounting procedures, incorporated throughout the tables, are defined below.

• Separately budgeted R&D expenditures. All funds expended for activities specifically organized to produce research outcomes. These activities are either commissioned by an agency external to the institution or are separately budgeted by an organizational unit within the institution.
• Expenditures. Funds actually spent by an institution during its fiscal year.
• Organizational units. All units of an institution that are included in or with an institution's financial statements.
• Separately budgeted R&D equipment purchased from current funds. All research equipment purchased under research project accounts.
• Imputation and imputed data. The process by which NSF develops estimates of data when institutions do not provide the requested information. Estimates for questions included in the previous version of the survey are based on key data items reported in prior-year surveys. When these key data items are not available, estimates are derived from data of respondent institutions that have similar characteristics, including highest degree granted and type of institutional control (public or private). Estimates for questions that are new to the revised version of the survey are calculated using a set of core predictors that are highly correlated with most of the survey questions. In this publication, the letter "i" is used to identify imputed data.

Data presented in trend tables were compiled from the most recently completed survey cycle. Prior-year data have been reviewed for consistency with current-year responses and, when necessary, have been revised in consultation with institutional respondents. Institutions revise data from previous years when important changes occur in reporting practices and program classifications, and only the latest tables incorporate such changes. For accurate historical data, use only the most recently published detailed statistical tables.

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