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FEDERAL COMMITTEE ON STATISTICAL METHODOLOGY

NONRESPONSE BIAS SUBCOMMITTEE

1. OBJECTIVE

The objective of the Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology (FCSM) 

Nonresponse Bias Subcommittee is to: (1) identify and summarize nonresponse bias

studies involving federal surveys since the issuance of the 2006 OMB Standards 

and Guidelines for Statistical Surveys; (2) develop a set of guidelines and best 

practices for nonresponse bias analyses and reporting; and (3) monitor the impact of 

the newly developed guidelines on nonresponse bias analyses and reporting.

2. BACKGROUND

In 2006, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published Standards and 

Guidelines for Statistical Surveys requiring that all Federal surveys with a unit 

response rate of less than 80 percent conduct an analysis of nonresponse bias.

Since 2006, Federal surveys have increased activities involving analyses of 

nonresponse bias; however, the quality and style of the reports have greatly varied 

in terms of methodology, rigor, and reporting.

In 2016, the FCSM chartered the Nonresponse Bias Subcommittee to help assess

the overall impact of OMB’s Standards and Guidelines for Statistical Surveys. The 

Nonresponse Bias Subcommittee was tasked with identifying and summarizing 

nonresponse bias studies involving federal surveys since the issuance of the 2006 

OMB Standards and Guidelines for Statistical Surveys; and developing a set of 

recommendations and best practices for nonresponse bias analyses and reporting.

3. SCOPE AND APPROACH

FCSM subcommittees are established to explore aspects of statistical methodology 

and produce a specific product within a prespecified time frame. These products 

may include research reports, workshop reports and guidance or recommendations. 

This FCSM Nonresponse Bias Subcommittee will:

a. Conduct a systematic review of nonresponse bias studies involving federal 

surveys. The Subcommittee will:

i. Collect studies including peer-reviewed research papers, published 

book chapters, conference proceedings, published government reports 

or memoranda, and other grey literature materials of nonresponse bias 
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studies involving Federal surveys since the 2006 OMB guidance were 

considered for inclusion.

ii. Extract information from the collected documents on the following 

attributes: a) general characteristics, including agency sponsorship, 

response rates, type of survey, and mode of data collection; b) types of 

nonresponse bias assessment method(s) used; c) target of the 

nonresponse bias analyses (i.e., sample composition, survey 

estimates, or both); and d) whether post-survey nonresponse 

adjustments appeared to reduce bias in final estimates.

iii. Summarize the extracted data in a searchable database.

iv. Write a report summarizing the findings of this systematic review.

b. Based on findings from the systematic review, the Subcommittee will develop 

a set of guidelines and best practices for nonresponse bias analyses and 

reporting. The Subcommittee will:

i. Publish the guidelines as an FCSM report.

ii. Upon completion of the report, the Subcommittee will facilitate an 

FCSM workshop to share examples and promote best practices. 

c. Monitor the impact of the newly developed guidelines on nonresponse bias 

studies by reviewing submitted studies on an annual basis. To accomplish 

this goal, the Subcommittee will collaborate with the FCSM to create a 

mechanism by which researchers are encouraged to share their studies of

nonresponse bias.

d. Explore opportunities for conducting experiments and or simulation studies 

within and across surveys and agencies to compare results of different 

adaptive design, responsive design, and weighting techniques on bias 

reduction.

4. PROPOSED DELIVERABLES AND DATES

This FCSM Nonresponse bias Subcommittee will be responsible for generating: (1) 

a report summarizing the findings from a systematic review of nonresponse bias 

studies in 2019; (2) a report providing a set of guidelines and best practices for 

nonresponse bias analyses and reporting for federal surveys in 2020; and for (3) 

organizing a workshop to share examples and promote best practices in 2021.
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5. SPONSOR

This FCSM Nonresponse bias Subcommittee serves under the auspices of the 

FCSM and is subject to direction from it. There will be regular contact with FCSM 

through the FCSM member serving as a co-chair or the temporary FCSM 

membership for the Chair(s) of the group, to be determined at the discretion of the 

FCSM co-chairs. 

6. COMMUNICATIONS

The FCSM co-chair of this Subcommittee serves as a liaison to FCSM.

7. GROUP MEMBERS

Membership in the FCSM Nonresponse Subcommittee is open to all interested 

Federal personnel with expertise and interest in statistical methods related to 

nonresponse bias. The subcommittee chair/co-chairs will select from among the 

membership individuals to join specific research projects teams, based on expertise.