Nov 13 -- The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) seeks Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to conduct the coronavirus pandemic supplement between Round 19 and 20 of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97). BLS invites data users to submit comments to OMB by December 14, 2020.
The NLSY97 is a nationally representative sample of persons who were ages 12 to 16 on December 31, 1996. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) contracts with external organizations to interview these youths, to study how young people make the transition from full-time schooling to the establishment of their families and careers, and their labor market outcomes over the life-cycle. Interviews were conducted on a yearly basis through Round 15; beginning with Round 16 they are interviewed on a biennial basis. The longitudinal focus of this survey requires information to be collected about the same individuals over many years in order to trace their education, training, work experience, fertility, income, and program participation.
The interim supplemental survey will consist of approximately 35 questions. Similar questions have appeared in previous rounds of the NLSY97, the Current Population Survey, or the Census Household Pulse survey. The content covers household composition, current employment for the respondent and spouse/partner, changes in employment/earnings during the past 12 months due to the coronavirus pandemic, time spent teaching children under age 18, health, health insurance, having contracted the coronavirus, medical care deferred due to the coronavirus pandemic, mental health, income, and earnings.
Questions on current employment: We propose to ask a series of question to understand the respondent’s employment situation during the past 7 days. These items come from Round 10 of the NLSY97. Similar items are asked in the Household Pulse Survey.
Questions of current employment of spouse/partner: We propose to ask a series of question to understand the spouse/partner’s employment situation during the past 7 days. These items are parallel to those asked for the respondent. Questions about spouse/partner’s hours of work over the past 12 months have been asked in recent rounds of the NLSY97.
Questions on changes in work over the last 12 months due to COVID: We propose to ask a question about changes in work over the last 12 months due to COVID. This question is included in the NLSY79 Round 29 Questionnaire to be fielded beginning in fall 2020. The question attempts to capture changes in hours worked, work location, ending a job, and starting a new job.
Questions on school closure/distance learning: We propose to include questions on school enrollment, the use of distance learning, and the extent to which it caused difficulty for the respondent.. The questions are similar to those in the Household Pulse Survey and the Understanding America Study.
Questions on health: We propose to ask a general question on self-rated health, whether the respondent has been diagnosed with COVID, and a depression scale. All of these items appear in NLSY79 Round 29. With the exception of the questions that focus on COVID, all items were included in NLSY97 Round 19. We propose to include in the interim supplement the 7-item Center for Epidemiological Depression Scale (CESD), a screening instrument for depression in the interim supplement. This scale was included in Round 19 and has been fielded as part of the NLSY79 data collection in several rounds.
Proposed QUESTIONNAIRE CONTENT FOR NLSY97 INTERIM SUPPLEMENT ON CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/DownloadDocument?objectID=105967800
Supporting Statement:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewDocument?ref_nbr=202011-1220-001
FR notice inviting comment:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/11/13/2020-25151/agency-information-collection-activities-submission-for-omb-review-comment-request-national
National Longitudinal Surveys Technical Review Committee (2020)
Shawn Bushway, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, Department of Public Administration and Policy University at Albany
Jennie Brand, Departments of Sociology And Statistics, University of California, Los Angeles
Sarah Burgard, Department of Sociology, University of Michigan
Judith Hellerstein, Department of Economics, University of Maryland
David Johnson, Survey Research Center, University of Michigan
Michael Lovenheim, Departments of Economics, Industrial and Labor Relations, and Policy Analysis and Management, Cornell University
Nicole Maestas, Harvard Medical School
Melissa McInerney, Department of Economics, Tufts University
Kristen Olson, Department of Sociology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
John Phillips, Division of Behavioral and Social Research, National Institute on Aging/NIH
Rebecca Ryan, Department of Psychology, Georgetown University
Jeffrey Smith, Department of Economics, University of Wisconsin
Point of contact: NLS_INFO@bls.gov
For AEA members wishing to provide comments, "A Primer on How to Respond to Calls for Comment on Federal Data Collections" is available at
https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=5806