The Bureau of Labor Statistics primarily funds the core activities of the NLSY79. Additional funding to support question modules has been provided by the Department of Defense, the National Center for Research in Vocational Education, the National Institute of Education, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the Department of Health and Human Services. The TRC, along with individuals from funding agencies, meets twice each year. The committee is multidisciplinary, reflecting the wide rage of social scientists who use the NLS data.
Members generally serve two three-year terms.
This group meets biannually to discuss TRC suggestions and long-range issues affecting the survey. Finally, the NLSY79 survey design team meets quarterly to discuss question placement, wording, and data collection. This design team is composed of representatives from funding agencies, individuals from CHRR, and BLS staff members. The NLSY79 sample, originating in 1979, is a nationally representative sample of 12,686 men and women who were 14 to 21 on December 31, 1978. In 1978, for the civilian sample, NORC created a list of housing units in the U.S. for the first NLS interview.