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SUPPORTING STATEMENT

 FOR PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSION

B. Collection of Information Employing Statistical Methods

The agency should be prepared to justify its decision not to use statistical methods in any case 

where such methods might reduce burden or improve accuracy of results. When Item 17 on 

Form 83-I is checked “Yes,” the following documentation should be included in the Supporting 

Statement to the extent that it applies to the methods proposed:

1. Describe the potential respondent universe (including a numerical estimate) and any sampling 

or other respondent selection method to be used. Data on the number of entities (e.g., 

establishments, state and local government units, households, or persons) in the universe 

covered by the collection and in the corresponding sample are to be provided in tabular form 

for the universe as a whole and for each of the strata in the proposed sample. Indicate 

expected response rates for the proposed sample. Indicate expected response rates for the 

collection as a whole. If the collection had been conducted previously, include the actual 

response rate achieved during the last collection.

Estimated Respondents Surveyed 

Year Estimated # 

of Pre-Docs

Estimated # of 

Post-Docs

1 500 100

2 520 105

3 540 110

The survey will be provided to all potential respondents. These respondents include the fellows 

who have been in their programs for at least an academic year but who have not been out of their 

programs for over 5 years. The estimated response rate is 75 percent. The list of fellows and their 

university email addresses will be first obtained from the director of each university pre- or 

postdoctoral program. As fellows leave their programs, they provide their new email address or 

their directors provide them. These emails will be used after the fellows have completed their 

programs and left their training universities.

Actual Response Rate from Most Recent Collection

Pre-Docs Post-Docs

75.5% 78.7%

Please note that some IES predoctoral fellows later became IES postdoctoral fellows. These 

individuals are counted as predoctoral fellows. 

2. Describe the procedures for the collection of information, including:

 Statistical methodology for stratification and sample selection.
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 Estimation procedure.

 Degree of accuracy needed for the purpose described in the justification.

 Unusual problems requiring specialized sampling procedures, and

 Any use of periodic (less frequent than annual) data collection cycles to reduce burden.

No sampling is done. The survey will be emailed to all potential respondents and will be 

collected once a year. A census is being used because the populations of pre- and postdoctoral 

fellows are small enough to make a census survey manageable and to make a sample not reliable 

for subgroup findings. Fellows will be surveyed throughout their fellowships and for 5 years 

following the completion of their training programs and, for predoctoral fellows, their doctorate 

programs.

3. Describe methods to maximize response and to deal with issues of non-response. The 

accuracy and reliability of information collected must be shown to be adequate for intended 

uses. For collections based on sampling, a special justification must be provided for any

collection that will not yield “reliable” data that can be generalized to the universe studied.

Response will be maximized through multiple avenues of contact: 

1) multiple emails from IES;

2) direct contact from the on-site director of the fellowship program; and, if needed,

3) phone contact from IES. 

A link to the online survey is sent by email, and responses are collected online.

In the case of non-response, a follow-up email will be sent 3 business days after the deadline of 

the survey and again 2 weeks after that. If there is no response within 2 weeks, an email check 

will be done to determine if the email address is correct. A third email will then be sent to the 

correct address 3 weeks after the second follow-up email. In addition, each pre- and postdoctoral 

program has a director based at the university. When there is non-response among a university’s 

fellows, the director will be asked to send a general reminder to all fellows to complete the 

survey. The director will not be informed which fellows have not responded. In addition, the 

director will not have access to fellows’ responses to the survey.

4. Describe any tests of procedures or methods to be undertaken. Testing is encouraged as an 

effective means of refining collections of information to minimize burden and improve 

utility. Tests must be approved if they call for answers to identical questions from 10 or 

more respondents. A proposed test or set of tests may be submitted for approval separately or 

in combination with the main collection of information.

The questions on the survey are drawn from two fellow satisfaction surveys that had been given 

in 2008 and that OMB determined needed to be converted into a survey. These satisfaction 
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surveys were done with the same population using the procedure proposed here. The response 

rate was just over 70 percent. There will be no testing of the survey to be used in future years. 

5. Provide the name and telephone number of individuals consulted on statistical aspects of the 

design and the name of the agency unit, contractor(s), grantee(s), or other persons who will 

actually collect and/or analyze the information for the agency.

As the entire population is being surveyed, results are to be simple tabulations, and the persons 

analyzing the data have appropriate backgrounds, no additional consultation was done.

All predoctoral and postdoctoral surveys will be sent and collected by:

Dr. Meredith Larson

IES/NCER

(202) 219-2025

All NCER predoctoral and postdoctoral surveys will analyzed by: 

Dr. Meredith Larson

IES/NCER

(202) 219-2025

All NCSER postdoctoral surveys will analyzed by: 

Dr. Amy Sussman

IES/NCSER

(202) 219-2126