[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 209 (Monday, October 29, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54377-54378]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-23561]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, and as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, the 
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) within 
the National Science Foundation (NSF) is inviting the general public or 
other Federal agencies to comment on this proposed continuing 
information collection. The NCSES will publish periodic summaries of 
the proposed projects.

DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by December 28, 
2018 to be assured consideration. Comments received after that date 
will be considered to the extent practicable. Send comments to the 
address listed in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance 
Officer, National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Suite 
W18253, Alexandria, Virginia 22314; 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: 
    Comments: Comments are invited on (a) whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the NCSES, including whether the information will have 
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the NCSES'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, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology; 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 collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology.
    Title of Collection: Survey of Earned Doctorates.
    OMB Approval Number: 3145-0019.
    Expiration Date of Approval: May 31, 2020.
    Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to renew an information 
collection for three years.
    Abstract: Established within NSF by the America COMPETES 
Reauthorization Act of 2010 Sec.  505, codified in the NSF Act of 1950, 
as amended, 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 Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) is part of NCSES' survey 
system that collects data on individuals in an effort to provide 
information on science and engineering education and careers in the 
United States. The SED has been conducted annually since 1958 and is 
jointly sponsored by the National Science Foundation, National 
Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Education, and National 
Endowment for the Humanities in order to avoid duplication. It is an 
accurate, timely source of information on one of our Nation's most 
important resources--highly educated individuals.
    Data are obtained primarily via Web survey from each person earning 
a research doctorate at the time they receive the degree. Data are 
collected on their field of specialty, educational background, sources 
of support in graduate school, debt level, postgraduation plans, and 
demographic characteristics. The Federal government, universities, 
researchers, and others use the information extensively. NCSES 
publishes statistics from the survey in several reports, primarily in 
the annual publication series Doctorate Recipients from U.S. 
Universities. These reports are available on the NCSES website. The 
survey will be collected in conformance with the Privacy Act of 1974. 
Responses from individuals are voluntary. NCSES will ensure that all 
individually identifiable information collected will be kept strictly 
confidential and will be used only for research or statistical 
purposes.
    Use of the Information: Results from the SED are used to assess 
characteristics of the doctorate population and trends in doctoral 
education and degrees by researchers, policy makers, universities, and 
government agencies. Data from the survey are published annually on the 
NCSES website in a publication series reporting on all fields of study, 
titled Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities. Information from 
the SED is also included in other series available online: Science and 
Engineering Indicators; and Women, Minorities, and Persons with 
Disabilities in Science and Engineering. In addition, access to tabular 
data from selected variables is available through Integrated Data Tool, 
an online table-generating tool on the NCSES website.
    Expected Respondents: The SED is a census of all individuals 
receiving a research doctorate from an accredited U.S. academic 
institution in the academic year beginning 1 July and ending 30 June of 
the subsequent year. As such, the population for the 2020 SED consists 
of all individuals receiving a research doctorate in the 12-month 
period beginning 1 July 2019 and ending 30 June 2020. Likewise, the 
population for the 2021 SED consists of all individuals receiving a 
research doctorate in the 12-month period beginning 1 July 2020 and 
ending 30 June 2021. A research doctorate is a doctoral degree that (1) 
requires completion of an original intellectual contribution in the 
form of a dissertation or an equivalent culminating project (e.g., 
musical composition) and (2) is not primarily intended as a degree for 
the practice of a profession. The most common research doctorate degree 
is the Ph.D. Recipients of professional doctoral degrees, such as MD, 
DDS, JD, DPharm, and PsyD, are not included in the SED. The 2020 and 
2021 SED are expected to include about 606 separately reporting 
doctoral programs from among approximately 446 eligible research 
doctorate-granting institutions.
    Estimate of Burden: A total response rate of 91.4% of the 54,664 
persons who earned a research doctorate from a U.S. institution was 
obtained in academic year 2017. This level of response rate has been 
consistent for several years. Based on the historical trend, in 2020 
approximately 58,000 individuals are expected to receive research 
doctorates from U.S. institutions. Using the past response rate, the 
number of SED respondents in 2020 is estimated to be 52,780 (58,000 
doctorate recipients x 0.91 response rate). Similarly, the number of 
individuals expected to earn

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research doctorates in 2021 is estimated to be about 59,000; hence, the 
number of respondents in 2021 is estimated to be 53,690 (59,000 x 
0.91).
    Based on the average Web survey completion time for the 2018 SED 
(19 minutes) and the extension of a few questions to an additional 
subset of respondents, NCSES estimates that, on average, 21 minutes per 
respondent will be required to complete the 2020 or 2021 SED 
questionnaire. The annual respondent burden for completing the SED is 
therefore estimated at 18,473 hours in 2020 (52,780 respondents x 21 
minutes) and 18,792 hours in 2021 (based on 53,690 respondents). In 
addition to the actual questionnaire, the SED requires the collection 
of administrative data from participating academic institutions. The 
Institutional Coordinator at the institution helps distribute the Web 
survey link (and paper surveys when necessary), track survey 
completions, and submit information to the SED survey contractor. Based 
on focus groups conducted with Institutional Coordinators, it is 
estimated that the SED demands no more than 1% of the Institutional 
Coordinator's time over the course of a year, which computes to 20 
hours per year per Institutional Coordinator (40 hours per week x 50 
weeks per year x .01). With about 606 programs expected to participate 
in the SED in 2020 and 2021, the estimated annual burden to 
Institutional Coordinators of administering the SED is 12,120 hours. 
Therefore, the total annual information burden for the SED is estimated 
to be 30,593 (18,473 + 12,120) hours in 2020 and 30,912 (18,792 + 
12,120) hours in 2021.

    Dated: October 24, 2018.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2018-23561 Filed 10-26-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7555-01-P