Design, Data Collection, Interview Administration Time, and Data Editing in the 1996 National Household Education Survey. Working Paper Series.

The National Household Education Survey (NHES) is a data collection system of the National Center for Education Statistics that concentrates on aspects of education that can best be addressed through contacts with households rather than institutions. The NHES is a telephone survey of the noninstitutionalized civilian population of the United States that has been conducted in 1991, 1993, 1995, and 1996. In the 1996 NHES (NHES:96), the primary topics addressed were parent and family involvement in education and civic involvement. This working paper presents information on the survey design, data collection, interview timing, and data editing for the NHES:96. The section on "Design Overview" describes the four interviews that evaluated the three substantive topics of the NHES:96, household members' use of public library services, parent and family involvement in education, and civic involvement. "Sample Design" describes the sample design, the way sample sizes were determined, the random digit dialing method, and sampling of households and within households. "Data Collection" describes supervisor and interviewer training, data collection procedures, special data collection activities, and data quality. The data editing process that ensures the completeness and quality of the data is described in the last section. Six appendixes present materials used for the interviews, edit specifications, and a database design diagram. (Contains 18 tables and 7 references.) (SLD)