8384 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 23 / Friday, February 5, 2021 / Notices 

Dated: February 2, 2021. 

Dawn D. Wolfgang, 

NCUA PRA Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2021–02450 Filed 2–4–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7535–01–P 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Comment Request; Survey 

of Doctorate Recipients 

AGENCY: National Science Foundation. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The National Science 

Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans 

to renew this collection. In accordance 

with the requirements of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, we are providing 

opportunity for public comment on this 

action. After obtaining and considering 

public comment, NSF will prepare the 

submission requesting Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

clearance of this collection for no longer 

than 3 years. 

DATES: Written comments on this notice 

must be received by April 6, 2021 to be 

assured consideration. Comments 

received after that date will be 

considered to the extent practicable. 

Send comments to the address below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance 

Officer, National Science Foundation, 

2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Suite 

W18200, Alexandria, Virginia 22314; 

telephone (703) 292–7556; or send email 

to splimpto@nsf.gov. 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). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title of Collection: 2021 Survey of 

Doctorate Recipients. 

OMB Control Number: 3145–0020. 

Expiration Date of Current Approval: 

August 31, 2022. 

Type of Request: Intent to seek 

approval to extend an information 

collection for three years. 

Abstract: Established within the NSF 

by the America COMPETES 

Reauthorization Act of 2010 § 505, 

codified in the National Science 

Foundation Act of 1950, as amended, 

the National Center for Science and 

Engineering Statistics (NCSES) serves as 

a central Federal clearinghouse for the 

collection, interpretation, analysis, and 

dissemination of objective data on 

science, engineering, technology, and 

research and development for use by 

practitioners, researchers, policymakers, 

and the public. 

NCSES is the primary sponsor of the 

Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR); 

the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 

serves as a co-sponsor. The SDR has 

been conducted biennially since 1973 

and is a longitudinal survey. The 2021 

SDR will consist of a sample of 

individuals under 76 years of age who 

have earned a research doctoral degree 

in a science, engineering, or health 

(SEH) field from a U.S. academic 

institution. The purpose of this panel 

survey is to collect data to provide 

national estimates on the doctoral 

science and engineering workforce and 

changes in their employment, 

education, and demographic 

characteristics. NCSES uses these data 

to prepare essential congressionally 

mandated reports (explained below). 

Government agencies and academic 

researchers use SDR data and 

publications to make planning decisions 

regarding science and engineering 

research, training, and employment 

opportunities. Employers also use the 

SDR to understand trends in 

employment sectors, industry types, and 

salary. Students who want to learn 

about the relationship between graduate 

education and careers often obtain 

valuable information from the SDR. Data 

and publications from the SDR are 

available to the public on the NCSES 

website: https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/ 

srvydoctoratework/. 

The SDR will collect data by web 

survey, mail questionnaire, and 

computer-assisted telephone interviews 

beginning in July 2021. The survey will 

be collected in conformance with the 

Confidential Information Protection and 

Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002 and 

the individual’s response to the survey 

is voluntary. NCSES will ensure that all 

information collected will be kept 

strictly confidential and will be used 

only for statistical purposes. 

Use of the Information: NCSES uses 

the information from the SDR to prepare 

two congressionally mandated reports: 

Women, Minorities, and Persons With 

Disabilities in Science and Engineering 

and Science and Engineering Indicators. 

NCSES publishes statistics from the 

SDR in many reports, but primarily in 

the biennial series, Characteristics of 

Scientists and Engineers with U.S. 

Doctorates. As with prior SDR data 

collections, a cross-sectional public 

release file of collected data, designed to 

protect respondent confidentiality, will 

be made available to researchers on the 

NCSES website: https://

ncsesdata.nsf.gov/datadownload/. 

Expected Respondents: The U.S. 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) previously directed that NCSES 

enhance and expand the sample to 

measure employment outcomes by the 

fine field of degree taxonomy used in 

the Survey of Earned Doctorates. NCSES 

initiated this change in the 2015 cycle 

and maintained it in each subsequent 

cycle. For the 2021 SDR, a statistical 

sample of approximately 131,000 

individuals with U.S. earned doctorates 

in science, engineering, or health will be 

contacted. As with prior SDR data 

collection cycles, the sample consists of 

all eligible cases from the previous cycle 

(116,000), as well as a sample of 10,000 

new doctoral graduates. In addition, the 

sample includes 5,000 cases that will be 

part of a non-production bridge panel 

designed to quantify the potential 

impact of question wording 

modifications on key survey estimates. 

For 2021, the new graduate sample 

received their doctorate between July 

2017 and June 2019. Across the full 

sample, approximately 116,760 

individuals will reside in the U.S. and 

14,240 will reside abroad. 

Estimate of Burden: NCSES expects 

the overall 2021 SDR response rate to be 

approximately 70 percent. The amount 

of time to complete the questionnaire 

may vary depending on an individual’s 

circumstances; however, based on 2019 

SDR completion times, NCSES estimates 

an average completion time of 

approximately 21 minutes. NCSES 

estimates that the average annual 

burden for the 2021 survey cycle over 

the course of the three-year OMB 

clearance period will be no more than 

10,699 hours [(131,000 individuals × 

70% response × 21 minutes)/3 years/60 

minutes]. 

Comments: Comments are invited on 

(a) whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of NCSES, 

including whether the information shall 

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 on 

respondents, including through the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology; 

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. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 23 / Friday, February 5, 2021 / Notices 8385 

Dated: February 2, 2021. 

Suzanne H. Plimpton, 

Reports Clearance Officer, National Science 

Foundation. 

[FR Doc. 2021–02447 Filed 2–4–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–P 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Comment Request; Survey 

of Earned Doctorates 

AGENCY: National Science Foundation. 

ACTION: Submission for OMB review; 

comment request. 

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 one comment was 

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. 

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 splimpto@

nsf.gov. 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. 

Title of Collection: Survey of Earned 

Doctorates. 

OMB Control Number: 3145–0019. 

Summary of Collection: The SED has 

been conducted annually since 1958 

and is jointly sponsored by four Federal 

agencies (NSF/NCSES, National 

Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of 

Education/National Center for 

Education Statistics, and National 

Endowment for the Humanities) to 

avoid duplication of effort in collecting 

such data. The authority to collect 

information for the Survey of Earned 

Doctorates (SED) is established under 

the National Science Foundation Act of 

1950, as amended, Public Law 507 (42 

U.S.C. 1862), Section 3(a) (6), which 

directs the NSF ‘‘. . . 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 formation by other agencies of 

the federal government.’’ 

This request to extend the information 

collection for three years is to cover the 

2022 and 2023 SED survey cycles. Data 

are obtained primarily via Web survey 

from each person earning a research 

doctorate at the time they receive the 

degree. Graduate schools help distribute 

the SED to their graduating doctorate 

recipients. 

The survey will be collected in 

conformance with the NSF Act of 1950, 

as amended, and the Privacy Act of 

1974. Responses from individuals are 

voluntary. NCSES will ensure that all 

individually identifiable information 

collected will be kept strictly 

confidential and will be used for 

research or statistical purposes, 

analyzing data, and preparing scientific 

reports and articles. 

Use of the Information: NCSES, as the 

lead agency, publishes statistics from 

the survey in several reports, but 

primarily in the annual publication 

series reporting on all fields of study, 

titled Doctorate Recipients from U.S. 

Universities. Information from the SED 

is also used to prepare congressionally 

mandated reports such as Science and 

Engineering Indicators and Women, 

Minorities and Persons with Disabilities 

in Science and Engineering. 

Expected Respondents: The SED is a 

census of all individuals receiving a 

research doctorate from an accredited 

U.S. academic institution in an 

academic year (AY) beginning 1 July 

and ending 30 June of the following 

year. Based on the historical trend, 

NCSES expects that approximately 

57,000 individuals will receive a 

research doctorate from U.S. institutions 

in AY2022, and approximately 58,000 

in AY2023. NCSES estimates the 

response rate will be 92 percent for both 

the 2022 and 2023 SED survey cycles. 

In addition to the survey completion of 

individuals receiving their research 

doctorates, the SED requires the 

collection of administrative data such as 

graduation lists from approximately 600 

Institutional Coordinators at the 

participating institutions who help to 

distribute the Web survey link, track 

survey completions, and submit 

information to the SED survey 

contractor. 

Estimate of Burden: Based on an 

average Web survey completion time of 

20 minutes, the respondent burden for 

completing the SED is estimated at 

17,480 hours in 2022 (57,000 doctorate 

recipients × 92% response × 20 minutes) 

and 17,787 hours in 2023 (58,000 

doctorate recipients x 92% response x 

20 minutes). With about 600 schools 

expected to participate in the 2022 and 

2023 SED, the estimated burden to 

Institutional Coordinators is 12,000 

hours for each survey cycle. Therefore, 

the total burden for the SED is estimated 

to be 29,480 (17,480 + 12,000) hours in 

the 2022 survey cycle and 29,787 

(17,787 + 12,000) hours in the 2023 

survey cycle. NCSES estimates that the 

average annual burden for the 2022 and 

2023 survey cycles over the course of 

the three-year OMB clearance period 

will be no more than 19,756 hours 

[(29,480 hours + 29,787 hours)/3 years]. 

Comment: As required by 5 CFR 

1320.8(d), comments on the information 

collection activities were solicited 

through publication of a 60-day notice 

in the Federal Register on 14 October 

2020 at 85 FR 65078. NCSES received 

one public comment from the 

Federation of American Societies for 

Experimental Biology advocating for the 

collection of information on the 

participation of sexual and gender 

minorities in doctoral education. NCSES 

informed the commenter that it shares 

their interest in improving federal data 

collections and providing reliable 

measures for important segments of the 

population. NCSES also informed the 

commenter that it is conducting 

research to evaluate these measures 

with the goal that this research, in 

combination with on-going sexual 

orientation and gender identity (SOGI) 

survey content research being 

conducted by other federal agencies, 

will enable the development of standard 

guidance for collecting SOGI data in the 

near future. 

Comments: Comments are invited on 

(a) whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

Agency, including whether the 

information shall have practical utility; 

(b) the accuracy of the Agency’s 

estimate of burden of the proposed 


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