[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 107 (Friday, June 3, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35805-35806]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-13081]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Notice of Intent To Request New Information Collection

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans to 
request renewal of the Early Career Doctorates Survey (OMB Control 
Number 3145-0235). In accordance with the requirement of section 
3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, (Pub. L. 104-13), 
we are providing opportunity for public comment on this action. After 
obtaining and considering public comment, NSF will prepare the 
submission requesting that OMB approve clearance of this collection for 
three years.
    Comments: Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the NSF, 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 to be collected; 
and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.

DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by August 2, 
2016, to be assured consideration. Comments received after that date 
will be considered to the extent practicable. Send comments to address 
below.
    For Additional Information or Comments: Contact Suzanne H. 
Plimpton, the NSF Reports Clearance Officer, National Science 
Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 295, Arlington, Virginia 
22230; telephone (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 of Collection: Early Career Doctorates Survey.
    OMB Approval Number: 3145-0235.
    Expiration Date: June 30, 2017.
    Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to extend an information 
collection for three years.
    Abstract: Established within the NSF 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. The Early Career Doctorates Survey (ECDS) 
will become part of an integrated survey system that meets the human 
resources statistics part of this mission.
    The Early Career Doctorates Project was established to gather in-
depth information about early career doctorates (ECDs), including 
postdoctoral researchers (postdocs). Early career doctorates are 
critical to the success of the U.S. scientific enterprise and will 
influence U.S. and global scientific markets for years to come. Despite 
their importance, current surveys of this population are limited, and 
extant workforce studies are insufficient for all doctorates who 
contribute to the U.S. economy. The NSF's Survey of Earned Doctorates 
and the Survey of Doctorate Recipients are limited to individuals who 
received research doctorates from U.S. academic institutions, thereby 
excluding individuals who earned professional doctorates and those who 
earned doctorates from institutions outside the United States but are 
currently employed in the United States. The NSF's Survey of Graduate 
Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering (GSS) provides 
aggregate level data for all postdocs and nonfaculty researchers 
regardless of where they earned the degree. However, the GSS is limited 
to science, engineering, and selected health (SEH) fields in U.S. 
academic institutions and their related research facilities and is 
collected at the program rather than the individual level.
    Through its multi-year Postdoc Data Project, NCSES determined the 
need for and the feasibility of gathering information about postdocs 
working in the United States. However, efforts to reliably identify and 
gather information about postdocs proved difficult due to substantial 
variation in how institutions characterize postdoc appointments. As a 
result, NCSES expanded the target population to include all individuals 
who earned their first doctorate within the past 10-years. Expanding 
the population to doctoral degree holders ensures a larger, more 
consistent and reliable target population. Unique in scope, the key 
goals of the ECD Project are:
     To broaden the scope and depth of national statistics on 
the ECD population both U.S. degreed and non-U.S. degreed, across 
employment sectors and fields of discipline
     To collect nationally representative data from ECDs that 
can be used by funding agencies, policy makers, and other researchers 
to better understand the labor market and work experiences of recent 
doctorate recipients
     To gather the diverse definitions for ECDs to allow for 
analysis within and across employment sectors
    The current focus of the ECD Project is to conduct a survey of ECDs 
working in three areas of employment: U.S. academic institutions in the 
GSS, Federally Funded Research and

[[Page 35806]]

Development Centers, and the National Institutes of Health Intramural 
Research Programs. NCSES, under full clearance (OMB #3145-0235), has 
conducted a pilot survey with data collection period spanning July 2014 
to March 2015. The Pilot ECDS data will be released in 2016.
    Beginning in November 2016, NSF will request lists of ECDs from 
approximately 390 institutions nationwide, and sample 24,000 
individuals from these lists. Sample members will be invited to 
participate in a 40-minute web-based questionnaire. The survey topics 
cover: Educational achievement, professional activities, employer 
demographics, professional and personal life balance, mentoring, 
training and research opportunities, and career paths and plans. 
Participation in the survey is voluntary.
    The survey will be collected in conformance with the Privacy Act of 
1974 and the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical 
Efficiency Act (CIPSEA). The NSF will ensure that all individually 
identifiable information collected will be kept strictly confidential 
and will be used for research or statistical purposes.
    Use of the Information: The NSF will publish statistics from the 
survey in several reports, including the National Science Board's 
Science and Engineering Indicators and NCSES's Women, Minorities, and 
Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering. These reports 
will be made available electronically on the NSF Web site. Restricted-
use and public use data files will also be developed, and will be made 
available to interested researchers from government, professional 
associations, and other organizations. Restricted-use data may be 
obtained under a license agreement.
    Expected Respondents: There are four groups who contribute to the 
estimated total burden hours of the ECDS data collection. Three groups 
assist in the development of an accurate list of ECDs: Institutional 
high authority (HA), communication coordinator (CC), and list 
coordinator (LC). The fourth group is the individual early career 
doctorate (ECD). At the first stage of sampling, the ECDS will select 
390 institutions. At each institution, a high authority (HA) will 
authorize the institution's participation in the study, designate a 
list coordinator (LC) and a communication coordinator (CC), and provide 
a letter of support for the survey. The primary responsibility of the 
LC is to prepare a list of ECD working at the institution. The LC will 
provide a list of all ECD, that is, individuals working at their 
institution who earned their first doctorate or doctorate-equivalent 
degree within the past 10 years, including postdocs, nonfaculty 
researchers, tenured or tenure-track faculty members. The primary 
responsibility of the CC is to coordinate all communications at the 
institution. In the second stage, the HA, with the help of the CC, will 
notify the sampled individuals of their selection and NSF will survey 
these individuals.
    Estimate of Burden: In the Pilot ECDS, HAs required 30 minutes on 
average to complete their tasks while CCs required 90 minutes on 
average to complete their tasks. We estimate a maximum total burden of 
195 hours for HAs and 585 hours for CCs across both stages of data 
collection. LCs in participating institutions required an average of 8 
hours to fulfill their duties during the Pilot ECDS. We estimate the 
maximum total LC burden to be 3,120 hours during stage 1. NCSES 
estimates that respondents will take 40 minutes on average to complete 
the questionnaire based on the time to completion data from the Pilot 
ECDS. We estimate the maximum total ECD burden to be 16,000 hours.
    Taking into account all four groups (HA, CC, LC, and ECD), we 
estimate the maximum total respondent burden to be 19,900 hours. The 
below table shows the estimated burden by stage and respondent type.

                               ECDS Estimated Burden by Stage and Respondent Type
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                                                                                                     Estimated
                         Respondent type                          Sample members    Minutes per    total burden
                                                                                    respondent         hours
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Stage 1: Frame Creation:
    High Authority (HA).........................................             390              20             130
    Communication Coordinator (CC)..............................             390              60             390
    List Coordinator (LC).......................................             390             480           3,120
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
        Subtotal................................................  ..............  ..............           3,640
Stage 2: Individual Survey:
    High Authority (HA).........................................             390              10              65
    Communication Coordinator (CC)..............................             390              30             195
    Early Career Doctorate (ECD)................................          24,000              40          16,000
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
        Subtotal................................................  ..............  ..............          16,260
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
            Total \1\...........................................               -               -          19,900
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\1\ This is an initial estimated burden hours which is based on preliminary sample design. NCSES anticipates the
  final burden hours to be at or below this initial estimate.


    Dated: May 27, 2016.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2016-13081 Filed 6-2-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7555-01-P