The Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) is an annual census conducted since 1957 of all individuals receiving a research doctorate from an accredited U.S. institution in a given academic year. The SED is sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) within the National Science Foundation (NSF) and by three other federal agencies: the National Institutes of Health, Department of Education, and National Endowment for the Humanities. The SED collects information on the doctoral recipient's educational history, demographic characteristics, and postgraduation plans. Results are used to assess characteristics of the doctoral population and trends in doctoral education and degrees.

The Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering survey is an annual census of all U.S. academic institutions granting research-based master's degrees or doctorates in science, engineering, and selected health fields as of fall of the survey year. The survey, sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics within the National Science Foundation and by the National Institutes of Health, collects the total number of master's and doctoral students, postdoctoral appointees, and doctorate-level nonfaculty researchers by demographic and other characteristics such as source of financial support. Results are used to assess shifts in graduate enrollment and postdoc appointments and trends in financial support.

The Annual Business Survey (ABS) is conducted by the Census Bureau in partnership with the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics within the National Science Foundation. The ABS is comprised of two different questionnaires. The ABS-1 focuses on businesses with one to nine employees and collects data on research and development, innovation, technology, intellectual property, and business owner characteristics. The ABS-2 focuses on businesses with 10 or more employees and collects data on innovation, technology, intellectual property, and business owner characteristics but not on research and development.

Note that the information in the Survey Description refers to the 2018 cycle of the Business Research and Development Survey (BRDS). The name of the survey will change permanently to the Business Enterprise Research and Development Survey (BERD) beginning with the next cycle. BERD and its predecessors are the primary sources of information on research and development performed or funded by businesses within the United States since 1953. BERD is conducted for the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics by the Census Bureau in accordance with an agreement between the two agencies. Results are used to assess trends in the performance and funding of business R&D. The annual survey examines a nationally representative sample of companies in manufacturing and nonmanufacturing industries. Its predecessors were the Survey of Industrial Research and Development (SIRD) (1953–2007), the Business R&D and Innovation Survey (BRDIS) (2008–16), and the Business Research and Development Survey (BRDS) (2017–18). Note that SIRD and BRDIS collected statistics for businesses with 5 or more employees. BRDS (and BERD) collected statistics for businesses with 10 or more employees. Note that SIRD, BRDIS, and BRDS all collected data on the full range of R&D activities, but only BRDIS collected data on business innovation activities. Data on business innovation activities have been collected by the Annual Business Survey (ABS) since 2017. Statistics on the R&D activities of businesses with 1–9 employees are also collected by the ABS.

The Business R&D and Innovation Survey-Microbusiness (BRDI-M) collected research and development and other innovation-related data from a sample of independent U.S. small businesses. The survey was conducted by the Census Bureau in partnership with the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics within the National Science Foundation. Results will be used to assess research and development and other innovation-related data among the smallest businesses in the United States. The BRDI-M survey was conducted only once. Most questions from the BRDI-M questionnaire are now included in the Annual Business Survey.

The FFRDC Research and Development Survey is the primary source of information on R&D expenditures at federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) in the United States. Conducted annually for university-administered FFRDCs since FY 1953 and all FFRDCs since FY 2001, the survey collects information on R&D expenditures by source of funds and types of research and expenses. The survey is an annual census of the full population of eligible FFRDCs. See https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/ffrdclist/ for the Master List of FFRDCs maintained by the National Science Foundation.

The Higher Education Research and Development Survey is the primary source of information on R&D expenditures at U.S. colleges and universities. The survey collects information on R&D expenditures by field of research and source of funds and also gathers information on types of research, expenses, and headcounts of R&D personnel. The survey is an annual census of institutions that expended at least $150,000 in separately accounted for R&D in the fiscal year.

The Nonprofit Research Activities (NPRA) Survey measures research and experimental development (R&D) performance and funding at U.S. 501(c) nonprofit organizations. The first full-scale survey was conducted in the spring of 2018 with a nationally representative sample of nonprofit organizations measuring FY 2016 R&D activities. Because some of the estimates from the full-scale survey could not be released as official statistics due to data quality issues, NCSES has made these results available in a working paper. The estimates presented under the "Data" tab meet NCSES's publication criteria as official statistics and can be treated as such. The next survey will be conducted in partnership with the Census Bureau in the summer of 2021 measuring FY 2020 R&D activities.

The Survey of Federal Funds for Research and Development is the primary source of information about federal funding for R&D in the United States. The survey is an annual census completed by the federal agencies that conduct R&D programs. Actual data are collected for the fiscal year just completed; estimates are obtained for the current fiscal year.

The Survey of Federal Science and Engineering Support to Universities, Colleges, and Nonprofit Institutions is a congressionally mandated survey that is the only source of comprehensive data on federal science and engineering (S&E) funding to individual academic and nonprofit institutions. The target population is federal agencies that obligated money in the survey year for direct support of academic and nonprofit institutions’ research and development.

The Survey of State Government Research and Development measures the extent of R&D activity performed and funded by the governments of each of the nation’s 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico (collectively, states). By employing consistent, uniform definitions and collection techniques, the survey allows collection of state R&D expenditures data that are comparable nationwide. The survey is a census of state government departments, agencies, commissions, public authorities, and dependent entities with R&D activities.

The Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities is a congressionally mandated, biennial survey that collects data on the amount, construction, repair, renovation, and funding of research facilities at U.S. colleges and universities. The survey is an establishment-based survey completed by institutional coordinators at academic institutions and is a census of all research-performing colleges and universities in the United States that expended at least $1 million in research and development funds in the prior fiscal year.

The Early Career Doctorates Survey (ECDS) gathers in-depth information about individuals who earned their first doctoral degree (PhD, MD, or equivalent) in the past 10 years and work at academic institutions and federally funded research and development centers. Unique in scope, the ECDS includes professional and research doctorate holders from all fields trained in the United States and abroad. Sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics within the National Science Foundation and by the National Institutes of Health, the ECDS provides new data on the demographics, work experiences, and career paths of individuals in the first years following the completion of their doctoral studies.

The National Survey of College Graduates is a repeated cross-sectional biennial survey that provides data on the nation's college graduates, with a focus on those in the science and engineering workforce. This survey is a unique source for examining the relationship of degree field and occupation in addition to other characteristics of college-educated individuals, including work activities, salary, and demographic information.

The National Survey of Recent College Graduates, conducted from 1973 through 2010, was a cross-sectional biennial survey that provided demographic and career information about individuals holding a bachelor's or master's degree in a science, engineering, or health field from a U.S. academic institution. The survey sampled individuals living in the United States who received their degree in the prior 2 or 3 academic years and were under age 76. Results from the NSRCG help data users understand and predict trends in education, employment opportunities, and salaries of recent graduates.

The Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR) provides demographic, education, and career history information from individuals with a U.S. research doctoral degree in a science, engineering, or health (SEH) field. The SDR is sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics and by the National Institutes of Health. Conducted since 1973, the SDR is a unique source of information about the educational and occupational achievements and career movement of U.S.-trained doctoral scientists and engineers in the United States and abroad.

The current data collection contractor for the SDR is Westat.

The Survey of Postdocs at Federally Funded Research and Development Centers is a census of all federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) in the United States that employed postdoctoral researchers (postdocs) as of 1 October of the survey year. The survey is conducted as part of the Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering, which is sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics within the National Science Foundation and by the National Institutes of Health. The survey collects the total number of postdocs in each FFRDC by demographic characteristic, source of financial support, and field of research.