[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 247 (Wednesday, December 26, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76077-76078]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-31045]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 
(44 USC U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), and as part of its continuing effort to 
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, the National Science Foundation 
invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this 
opportunity to comment on this information collection.

DATES: Written comments should be received by February 25, 2013 to be 
assured of consideration. Comments received after that date will be 
considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: Written comments regarding the information collection and 
requests for copies of the proposed information collection request 
should be addressed to Suzanne Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer, 
National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Rm. 295, Arlington, VA 
22230, or by email to [email protected].

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR COMMENTS: Contact Suzanne Plimpton, the 
NSF Reports Clearance Officer, phone (703) 292-7556, or send email to 
[email protected]. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for 
the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 
1-800-877-8339, which is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 
days a year (including federal holidays).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Generic Clearance of the Science Resources Statistics Survey 
Improvement Projects.
    OMB Approval Number: 3145-0174.
    Expiration Date of Approval: May 31, 2013.
    Abstract. Established within the National Science Foundation by the 
America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 Sec.  505, codified in the 
National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended, the National 
Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) serves as a 
central Federal clearinghouse for the collection, interpretation, 
analysis, and dissemination of objective data on science, engineering, 
technology, and research and development for use by practitioners, 
researchers, policymakers, and the public. NCSES conducts about a dozen 
nationally-representative surveys to obtain the data for these 
purposes. The Generic Clearance will be used to ensure that the highest 
quality data are obtained from these surveys. State of the art 
methodology will be used to develop, evaluate, and test questionnaires 
and survey concepts as well as to improve survey methodology. This may 
include field or pilot tests of questions for future large scale 
surveys, as needed.
    Expected Respondents. The respondents will be from industry, 
academia, nonprofit organizations, members of the public, and State, 
local, and Federal governments. Respondents will be either individuals 
or institutions, depending upon the survey under investigation. 
Qualitative procedures will generally be conducted in person or over 
the phone, but quantitative procedures may be conducted using mail, 
Web, email, or phone modes, depending on the topic under investigation. 
Up to 11,060 respondents will be contacted across all survey 
improvement projects. No respondent will be contacted more than twice 
in one year under this generic clearance. Every effort will be made to 
use technology to limit the burden on respondents from small entities.
    Both qualitative and quantitative methods will be used to improve 
NCSES's current data collection instruments and processes and to reduce 
respondent burden, as well as to develop new surveys. Qualitative 
methods include, but are not limited to, expert review; exploratory, 
cognitive, and usability interviews; focus groups; and respondent 
debriefings. Cognitive and usability interviews may include the use of 
scenarios, paraphrasing, card sorts, vignette classifications, and 
rating tasks. Quantitative methods include, but are not limited to, 
telephone surveys, behavior coding, split panel tests, and field tests.
    Use of the Information. The purpose of these studies is to use the 
latest and most appropriate methodology to improve NCSES surveys and 
evaluate new data collection efforts. Methodological findings may be 
presented externally in technical papers at conferences, published in 
the proceedings of conferences, or in journals. Improved NCSES surveys 
will help policy makers in decisions on research and development 
funding, graduate education, and the scientific and technical 
workforce, as well as contributing to reduced survey costs.
    Burden on the Public. NCSES estimates that a total reporting and 
recordkeeping burden of 14,280 hours will result from activities to 
improve its surveys. The calculation is shown in Table 1.

 Table 1--Potential surveys for improvement projects, with the number of
                      respondents and burden hours
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                                             Number of
               Survey name                  respondents        Hours
                                                [1]
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Graduate Student Survey.................        [2]1,500           2,500
SESTAT Surveys..........................           4,700           3,350
Early Career Doctorate Project..........           1,000             800
New and Redesigned R&D Surveys..........             400  ..............
    Higher Education R&D................              60           1,200
    Government R&D......................             100             180
    Nonprofit R&D.......................              50             300
    Business R&D........................             150             150
    Microbusiness R&D...................  ..............             450
Survey of Scientific & Engineering                   300             300
 Facilities.............................
Public Understanding of S&E Surveys.....             200              50
Survey of Earned Doctorates.............           1,000             800
Additional surveys not specified........           1,600           4,200
    Total...............................          11,060          14,280
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1 Number of respondents listed for any individual survey may represent
  several methodological improvement projects.

[[Page 76078]]

 
2 This number refers to the science, engineering, and health-related
  departments within the academic institutions of the United States (not
  the academic institutions themselves).

    Comments: Comments are invited on (a) whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the Agency, including whether the information shall 
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of 
the burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology; Comments submitted 
in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the 
request for OMB approval of this information collection; they also will 
become a matter of public record.

    Dated: December 20, 2012.
Suzanne Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2012-31045 Filed 12-21-12; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P