[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 134 (Friday, July 12, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33287-33288]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14854]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request.

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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) has submitted the 
following information collection requirement to OMB for review and 
clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This is the second 
notice for public comment; the first was published in the Federal 
Register, and no comments were received. NSF is forwarding the proposed 
submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance 
simultaneously with the publication of this second notice. The full 
submission may be found at: http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.

DATES: Comments regarding this information collection are best assured 
of having their full effect if received by August 12, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs of OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for National Science 
Foundation, 725 17th Street NW, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503, and 
Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer, National Science 
Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22314, 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).
    Copies of the submission may be obtained by calling 703-292-7556.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NSF may not conduct or sponsor a collection 
of information unless the collection of information displays a 
currently valid OMB control number and the agency informs potential 
persons who are to respond to the collection of information that such 
persons are not required to respond to the collection of information 
unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.
    Comments regarding (a) whether the collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of NCSES, 
including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the 
accuracy of NCSES's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection 
of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, use, and clarity of 
the information to be collected, including through the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology; (d) 
ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated 
or other forms of information technology should be

[[Page 33288]]

addressed to the points of contact in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section.
    Title of Collection: 2019 Survey of Doctorate Recipients.
    OMB Approval Number: 3145-0020.
    Summary of Collection: The Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR) has 
been conducted biennially since 1973. The 2019 SDR will consist of a 
sample of 120,000 individuals less than 76 years of age who have earned 
a research doctoral degree in a science, engineering, or health field 
(SEH) from a U.S. institution. The purpose of this panel survey is to 
collect data that will be used to provide national estimates on the 
doctoral science and engineering workforce and changes in their 
employment, education, and demographic characteristics. The SDR is 
sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics 
(NCSES) within the NSF and by the National Institutes of Health. Data 
will be obtained by web, mail, and computer-assisted telephone 
interviews beginning in September 2019. Information from the SDR are 
used in assessing the quality and supply of the nation's SEH personnel 
resources for educational institutions, private industry, and 
professional organizations, as well as federal, state, and local 
governments. A public release file of collected data, that is designed 
to protect respondent confidentiality, will be made available to 
researchers, reporters, and other interested persons on the internet.
    The National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as subsequently 
amended, includes a statutory charge to ``. . . provide a central 
clearinghouse for the collection, interpretation, and analysis of data 
on scientific and engineering resources, and to provide a source of 
information for policy formulation by other agencies of the Federal 
Government.'' The SDR is designed to comply with these mandates by 
providing information on the supply and utilization of the nation's 
doctoral level scientists and engineers.
    The survey data will be collected in conformance with the 
Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 
2002 and the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015. The 
individual's response to the survey is voluntary. NSF will ensure that 
all information collected will be kept strictly confidential and will 
be used only for statistical purposes.
    Use of the Information: The NSF uses the information from the SDR 
to prepare congressionally-mandated reports such as Women, Minorities 
and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering and Science 
and Engineering Indicators. These two reports are made available, in 
full, on the internet. However, summary Digests of facts and figures 
from these lengthy reports are made available both in print and on the 
internet. Although NSF publishes statistics from the SDR in many 
reports, a set of statistical tables is produced online by NCSES in the 
biennial publication of SDR Data Tables.
    Expected Respondents: A statistical sample of 120,000 SEH doctorate 
holders will be contacted in 2019. The 2019 cycle of the SDR will 
continue to carry forward the large expanded sample of doctorate 
holders first selected for the 2015 SDR. The larger sample supports 
estimates of employment outcomes on a greater number of SEH detailed 
fields of degree captured in the Survey of Earned Doctorates, by 
demographic characteristics, such as gender, ethnicity, and race. The 
2019 SDR eligible sample will only include those who responded 
previously to either the 2017 SDR or the 2015 SDR and will add 10,000 
doctorates from the most recent 2016 and 2017 academic years. In 
addition, a supplemental sample of nearly 15,000 doctorate holders from 
the 2013 Doctorate Records File was selected to replace those removed 
from the 2019 sample due to past nonresponse from either refusal or 
failure to locate. NSF expects the overall response rate for the 2019 
SDR to be 75 percent.
    Estimate of Burden: The amount of time to complete the 
questionnaire may vary depending on an individual's circumstances; 
however, on average it takes approximately 25 minutes. Thus, NSF 
estimates that the total annual burden for the 2019 SDR will be 37,500 
hours (that is, 120,000 respondents at 75% response rate for 25 
minutes).
    Comment: As required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), comments on the 
information collection activities as part of this study were solicited 
through the publication of a 60-Day Notice in the Federal Register on 
14 August 2018, at FR Doc. 2018-17359. NCSES received one comment on 13 
October 2018 from a group representing several organizations. The 
commenters requested that NCSES include measures of sexual orientation 
and gender identity on the SDR and on other NCSES surveys 
(specifically, the National Survey of College Graduates and the Survey 
of Earned Doctorates). NCSES informed the commenters that it shares 
their interest in improving federal data collections and providing 
reliable measures for important segments of the population. 
Furthermore, NCSES described its process for evaluating possible 
questionnaire additions, including the extensive experimentation 
involved and the time and resources required. Finally, NCSES informed 
the commenters that it is initiating research to evaluate these 
measures and does not intend to include them in the 2019 SDR.
    NCSES also received 4 anonymous comments between 2 September 2018 
and 15 September 2018 and each was deemed to be fully unrelated to the 
request for comment on this proposed information collection.

    Dated: July 9, 2019.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2019-14854 Filed 7-11-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7555-01-P