Study Name:National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 (NLSY97)

Study Director:Michael W. Horrigan

Principal Investigator:James Walker

Host Organization:Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor

Year Initiated:1997

 

 

Governance

 

-                     Funding Sources

 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics primarily funds the core activities of the NLSY97.Additional funding to support question modules has been provided by the Department of Defense, the National School to Work Office of the Departments of Education and Labor, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the Department of Health and Human Services.

 

-                     Host organization

 

The study is conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago and the Center for Human Resource Research (CHRR) at Ohio State University.

 

-                     Governing body and the role of external research advisors

 

The 15-member Technical Review Committee (TRC) assists the NLS director.The TRC, along with individuals from funding agencies, meets twice each year.The committee is multidisciplinary, reflecting the wide rage of social scientists who use the NLS data.Members generally serve two three-year terms.

 

In addition to the TRC, there is an executive planning group consisting of the Principal Investigators of each NLS cohort, BLS staff, and the chair of the TRC.This group meets biannually to discuss TRC suggestions and long-range issues affecting the survey.

 

Finally, the NLSY97 survey design team meets quarterly to discuss question placement, wording, and data collection.This design team is composed of representatives from funding agencies, individuals from NORC, and BLS staff members.

 

Sample Design

 

-                     Sample selection

 

The NLSY97 sample, originating in 1997, is a nationally representative sample of 8,984 young men and women who were ages 12 to 16 on December 31, 1996.It is composed of two subsamples:a cross-sectional sample designed to represent the noninstitutionalized, civilian segment of young people living in the U.S. in 1997 and born between January 1, 1980 and December 31, 1984; and a supplemental sample of youths designed to oversample Hispanic and black youths living in the U.S. in 1997 and born between January 1, 1980 and December 31, 1984.Both the cross-sectional and supplemental samples were selected by standard area-probability sampling methods.

 

The NLSY97 samples were selected in two phases.First, a sample of over 90,000 housing units was specified in 147 non-overlapping primary sampling units.Interviewers then conducted brief screening interviews for the occupied housing units.Subsamples of eligible youths identified during the screening were then interviewed for participation in the main NLSY97 interview.

 

-Follow rules

 

Efforts are made to trace and re-interview all respondents every survey round, even respondents who have previously missed interviews.

 

-                     Oversampling

 

Oversampling of Hispanic and black youth.For the supplemental sample, NORC classified the selected segments by high or low density of Hispanic or black youth in the 1990 census and sampled addresses in the high-density segments at 10 times the rate of sampling in low density segments.

 

-                     Weights and attrition bias

 

New weights are created each survey round.

 

-                     Sample "refreshing"

None.

 

Content

-                     Driving policy needs

 

Identify characteristics defining the transition from school to the labor market.Document youth's transition from their parent's home into adulthood and homes/families of their own.

 

-                     Research objectives (Maintaining coherence of content domains)

 

Due to the depth and breadth of information available in the NLSY97, it can be used for a wide range of research objectives.Papers can be found on the NLS web site at www.bls.gov/nlshome.htm

 

-                     Content decisions

 

The NLSY97 has 8 major data elements: employment; schooling; training; income, assets, and program participation; family history; family formation; expectations; attitudes, behaviors, health, and time use.

 

-                     Tradeoffs between continuity and incentives for new directions.

 

The NLSY97 will have a core set of questions (employment, schooling, training, fertility, marital/relationship, income, assets, and program participation) and also detailed modules (substance use, criminal activity, health, time use, attitudes, school surveys) that will be asked periodically.Question modules vary by the age of the respondent.Modules that are no longer age appropriate will be dropped.

 

Collection

 

-                     Mode

 

The NLSY97 is collected in face-to-face personal interviews using a laptop computer.

 

-Instrument design

 

All interviews are conducted in a computer-aided personal interview (CAPI) format.

 

-                     Dependent interviewing

 

For each interview, there is an extensive preload of household, employment, and personal information that was gathered in previous interviews.

 

-                     Calendar year, survey year, and point of survey measures

 

Point of reference for the respondent is the date of last interview.Much of the information is collected in an event history format.

 

Processing

 

-                     Family composition editing.

None.

 

-                     Production of specialized files

 

In addition to the public-use files, geocode files are available to researchers who agree in writing to adhere to the BLS confidentiality policy and whose projects further the mission of BLS and the NLS program to conduct sound, legitimate research in the social sciences.The geocode files include the State, metropolitan area, and county of residence of each respondent in each survey year.The files also include selected environmental variables from the City and County Data Books.Researchers who are granted access to the geocode files are permitted to use the data are permitted to use the data at their own facilities.Researchers interested in obtaining a geocode application should e-mail BLS at NLS_Info@bls.gov.

 

BLS has opportunities available on a limited basis for researchers from colleges, universities, government, and eligible nonprofit organizations to obtain access to NLS data not available on public-use or geocode files.These confidential files are available for use only at the BLS National Office in Washington, DC, on statistical research projects approved by BLS.Access to data is subject to the availability of space and other resources at BLS.These confidential files include more detailed geographic information, such as zip codes and census tracts, as well as several surveys of schools.

 

-                     Data and Documentation Standards

 

Dissemination

 

-                     Dissemination techniques

 

NLS data are on cohort-specific compact discs complete with documentation and user-friendly search and retrieval software.The cost is $20.Sensitive data files are available only to those who complete the BLS confidential data file agreement procedure.

 

-                     Virtual data center and functionalities

None.

 

-                     Improving contractual use of data (confidentiality and encryption)

 

To protect the confidentiality of respondents, BLS only grants access to confidential files to those researchers who agree in writing to adhere to the BLS confidentiality policy and whose projects further the mission of BLS and the NLS program.

 

-                     Comparability of formats (Evolution of data standards)

 

-                     Value of joint multinational analysis projects