[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 239 (Wednesday, December 14, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76515-76516]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-27035]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request; 2023 
National Survey of College Graduates

AGENCY: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, 
National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Submission for OMB review; comment request.

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SUMMARY: The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics 
(NCSES) within 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 two comments were received. NCSES is forwarding the 
proposed information collection 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: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAmain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 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). Comments regarding this information collection are 
best assured of having their full effect if received within 30 days of 
this notification. Copies of the submission(s) may be obtained by 
calling 703-292-7556.
    Comments: Comments regarding (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 NSF's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
use, and clarity of the information on respondents; 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 should be addressed to the points 
of contact in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
    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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Comments: 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 4 
May 2022, at 87 FR 26375. We received two comments. The nature of each 
comment and our responses are summarized below.
    Comment: On 4 May 2022, Dr. Andrew Reamer of George Washington 
University sent an email to NSF on behalf of the American Economic 
Association and the Industry Studies Association. He requested the 
draft information collection request (ICR) materials for the 2023 NSCG.
    Response: NSF responded to Dr. Reamer on 13 May 2022, explaining 
that the 2023 NSCG ICR materials were in the process of being prepared 
and that the NSCG would be largely unchanged from its 2021 design, 
except that all the COVID-related items would be removed from the 
questionnaire such that the content would be returned to what it was in 
2019.
    Comment: On 24 June 2022, Dr. Jacqueline Robinson-Hamm sent an 
email to NSF on behalf of Dr. Patricia Morris, President of the 
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). 
FASEB recommended that the National Center for Science and Engineering 
Statistics (NCSES) expand its efforts to collect sexual orientation and 
gender identity (SOGI) data via its workforce surveys.
    Response: NSF responded to Drs. Morris and Robinson-Hamm on 4 
August 2022, informing them that NCSES continues to take a measured 
approach to adding SOGI questions to its surveys, to appropriately 
balance data quality, respondent burden, confidentiality, and data user 
needs, and directing them to an FAQ on the NCSES website (here).
    Title of Collection: 2023 National Survey of College Graduates.
    OMB Control Number: 3145-0141.
    Summary of Collection: The National Survey of College Graduates 
(NSCG) has been conducted biennially since the 1970s. The 2023 NSCG 
sample will be selected from the 2021 American Community Survey (ACS) 
and the 2021 NSCG, providing coverage of the college graduate 
population residing in the United States. The purpose of this repeated 
cross-sectional survey is to collect data that will be used to provide 
national estimates on the science and engineering workforce and changes 
in their employment, education, and demographic characteristics.

[[Page 76516]]

    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 NSCG is designed to comply with these mandates by 
providing information on the supply and utilization of the nation's 
scientists and engineers.
    The U.S. Census Bureau, as in the past, will conduct the NSCG for 
NSF. The survey data collection will begin in March 2023 using web and 
mail questionnaires. Nonrespondents to the web or mail questionnaire 
will be followed up by computer-assisted telephone interviewing. The 
individual's response to the survey is voluntary. The survey will be 
conducted in conformance with Census Bureau statistical quality 
standards and, as such, the NSCG data will be afforded protection under 
the applicable Census Bureau confidentiality statutes.
    Use of the Information: NSF uses the information from the NSCG to 
prepare congressionally mandated reports such as Women, Minorities and 
Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering and Science and 
Engineering Indicators. A public release file of collected data, 
designed to protect respondent confidentiality, will be made available 
to researchers on the internet.
    Expected Respondents: A statistical sample of approximately 166,000 
persons will be contacted in 2023. NSF estimates the 2023 NSCG response 
rate to be 65 to 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 will take approximately 25 minutes to complete 
the survey. NSF estimates that the average annual burden for the 2023 
NSCG over the course of the three-year OMB clearance period will be no 
more than 17,292 hours [(166,000 sample persons x 75% response x 25 
minutes)/3 years].

    Dated: December 8, 2022.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2022-27035 Filed 12-13-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P