FCSM Statistical Policy Seminar 

Achieving Statistical Quality in a Diverse and 

Changing Environment

 Holiday Inn Select Bethesda

 December 15 - 16, 2004 

Support provided by 

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Bureau of Economic Analysis 

Bureau Of Labor Statistics  Bureau of Transportation Statistics 

Energy Information Administration  Environmental Protection Agency 

National Agricultural Statistics Service  National Center for Education Statistics 

National Center for Health Statistics  Social Security Administration 

Statistics of Income, Internal Revenue Service  U.S. Census Bureau 

Wednesday, December 15 

7:30 a.m. Check-in and Coffee (Versailles Foyer) 

 

8:45 a.m. Welcome and Introduction: (Versailles I and II) 

 Katherine Wallman, OMB 

 

9:00 to 9:45 a.m. Keynote Speech: 

 Richard Kulka, RTI International

 Quantity and Quality: From Good to Great? 

 

9:45 a.m. Break (Versailles Foyer) 

 

10:00 - 12 noon (Sessions 1 and 2 run concurrently) 

 

1. Standards for Statistical Surveys (Versailles I) 

 Organizer: Alan Tupek, USCB Chair: Louis Kincannon, USCB 

 Speakers: Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB 

 OMB Guidance for Surveys 

 Alan Tupek, USCB

 Proposed Standards for Statistical Surveys 

 Discussants: Norm Bradburn, NORC/ University of Chicago; Frank Nolan, Office for 

 National Statistics (UK) 
 

 

2. Web Surveys: A Research Agenda for Changing 

 Environments (Versailles II) 

 Organizers: Gerald Gates, USCB, Nancy Kirkendall, EIA, Dennis Fixler, BEA, 

 Wendy Alvey, USCB Chair: Lynda Carlson, NSF 

 Panel: Sam Best, University of Connecticut; Reginald Baker, Market Strategies, 

 William Mockovak, BLS; Elizabeth Martin, USCB 

12:00 noon Lunch on Your Own 

1:00 to 3:00 p.m. (Sessions 3 and 4 run concurrently) 

3. Advisory Panels: Seeking Feedback to Improve Quality 

 of Statistical Programs (Versailles I) 

 Organizer: Wendy Alvey, USCB; Thomas Petska, SOI 

 Chair: Marshall DeBerry, BJS 

 Panel: Marshall DeBerry, Moderator; Thomas Petska, SOI; Marilyn Manser, BLS; 

 Peggy Carr, NCES; Aldona Robbins, Fiscal Associates, Inc; 

 Janet Lauritsen, University of Missouri-St. Louis 

4. Tools, Policy, and Procedures for Survey Improvement 

 Organizer: Kristen Miller, NCHS Chair: Kathleen Utgoff, BLS (Versailles II) 

 Speakers: Gordon Willis, NCI

 Cognitive Interviewing: A Tool for Improving Questionnaire Design 

 Theresa DeMaio, USCB

 Census Bureau Standard: Pre-testing Questionnaires and Related Materials for 

 Surveys and Censuses 

 Kristen Miller, NCHS

 Q-Bank: Development of a Tested-Question Database 

 Discussant: Jennifer Madans, NCHS 

3:00-3:30 p.m. Break (Versailles Foyer) 

 

3:30 to 5:30 p.m. (Sessions 5 and 6 run concurrently) 

5. Telephone Surveys in a Changing Environment (Versailles I) 

 Organizer: Clyde Tucker, BLS Chair: Rick Kowalewski, BTS 

 Panel: Phil Smith, CDC; Joseph Riley, HUD; Robie Sangster, BLS; 

 J. Michael Brick, Westat; Linda Piekarski, Survey Sampling International 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Researcher Access to Confidential Micro Data 

 From Home Institutions (Versailles II) 

 Organizer: Steven H. Cohen, BLS Chair: Edward Sondik, NCHS 

 Speakers: Vijay Gambhir, NCHS

 NCHS Experiences with Remote Access and Data Centers

 Mary Maher and Mitchell Morehart, ERS

 Opened ARMS: Barriers and Opportunities for Remote Provision of Farm 

 Business and Farm Household Data 

Alan Karr, NISS

 Regression Servers: What Do We Know? What Do We Not Know? 

Discussant: Jennifer Madans, NCHS 

Thursday, December 16

 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. (Sessions 7 and 8 run concurrently) 

7. Agency Initiatives to Monitor Survey Quality (Versailles I) 

 Organizers: Nancy Kirkendall, EIA Chair: Guy Caruso, EIA

 Speakers: Ruth Ann Killion, USCB

 Overview of Quality Profiles 

 Carol Caldwell, USCB

 The Annual Capital Expenditure Survey: A Case Study 

 Nancy Kirkendall, EIA

 Overview of Self-Assessments 

 Tom Broeme, EIA

 Initiating a Self-Assessment Process: A Case Study 

 Discussant: Barbara Bailer; Statistical Consultant; Lars Lyberg, Statistics Sweden 

8. The Confidential Information Protection and Statistical 

 Efficiency Act of 2002: Where Are We and Where Are 

 We Going? (Versailles II)

 Organizers: Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB; Marilyn Seastrom, NCES; 

 Chair: J. Steven Landefeld, BEA 

 Panel: Katherine Wallman, OMB; Jay Casselberry, EIA; Doug Wright, SAMHSA; 

 William Parks, BLS 

10:30-11:00 a.m. Break (Versailles Foyer) 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (Sessions 9 and 10 run concurrently) 

9. Recent Advances in Quality Assurance (Versailles I) 

Organizer: Ronald Fecso, NSF ; Chair: Ronald Bosecker, NASS

 Speakers: Jeff Moran and Paul Biemer, RTI 

Quality Management for Survey Research 

Lars Lyberg, Statistics Sweden

 Quality Assurance at Statistics Sweden 

David Marker, Westat

 Using Real-Time Process Measures to Improve Data Collection 

Discussant: John Kovar, Statistics Canada 

10. Integrated Survey Designs: Analytical Enhancements 

 Achieved Through Linkage of Surveys, Administrative 

 and Secondary Data (Versailles II)

 Organizer: Steven B. Cohen, AHRQ; Chair: Tom Petska, SOI 

 Speakers: Steven B. Cohen, AHRQ

 Integrated Health Care Survey Designs: Analytical Enhancements Achieved 

 Through Linkage of Surveys, Administrative and Secondary Data 

Dean Judson and Mark Bauder, USCB

 Linking the National Health Interview Survey and the Current Population 

 Survey with the Census

 Discussants: James Lepkowski, University of Michigan; 

William Kalsbeek, University of North Carolina 

1:00-2:15 p.m Luncheon Hosted by COPAFS (Washington Room) 

Speaker: Katherine Wallman, OMB 

2:30 to 4:30 p.m. (Sessions 11 and 12 run concurrently) 

11. Incentives in Government Surveys: Practices and 

 Perspectives (Versailles I) 

 Organizers: Marilyn Seastrom, NCES; Chair: Robert Lerner, NCES 

 Panel: Marilyn Seastrom, NCES; Jennifer Madans, NCHS; David Cantor, Westat; 

 Eleanor Singer, University of Michigan 
 

12. Data Mining: Policy Implications and Applications 

 Organizer: Barry Graubard, NCI; Chair: Susan Offutt, ERS (Versailles II) 

 Speakers: Joseph Tonning and Ana Szarfman, FDA

 Drug Safety Data Mining at the FDA 

 Edward Wegman, George Mason Univ., and Karen Kafadar, Univ. Of 

 Colorado, Denver 

 Discussants: Mike Dolak, GAO; Herb Lin, National Academies 

Legend 

AHRQ - Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality/Department of Health and Human 

 Services 

BEA - Bureau of Economic Analysis/Department of Commerce 

BJS - Bureau of Justice Statistics/Department of Justice 

BLS - Bureau of Labor Statistics/Department of Labor 

BTS - Bureau of Transportation Statistics/Department of Transportation 

CDC - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Department of Health and Human 

Services 

DOC - Department of Commerce 

DOJ - Department of Justice 

EIA - Energy Information Administration/Department of Energy 

ERS - Economic Research Service/Department of Agriculture 

FCSM - Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology 

FDA - Federal Drug Administration/ U.S. Food and Drug Administration 

GAO - Government Accountability Office 

HUD - Housing and Urban Development 

NAS - National Academy of Sciences 

NASS - National Agricultural Statistics Service/Department of Agriculture 

NCES - National Center for Education Statistics/Department of Education 

NCHS - National Center for Health Statistics/Department of Health and Human Services 

NCI - National Cancer Institute 

NISS - National Institute of Statistical Sciences 

NSF - National Science Foundation 

OMB - Office of Management and Budget 

RTI- Research Triangle Institute 

SAMHSA - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 

SOI - Statistics of Income/Internal Revenue Service 

USCB - U.S. Census Bureau/Department of Commerce