NCJ Number
55487
Date Published
1976
Length
302 pages
Annotation
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF 91 DATA RESOURCES PUBLISHED BY 22 FEDERAL AGENCIES AND PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS ARE PROVIDED IN THIS GUIDE TO ASSIST IN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PLANNING.
Abstract
THE SELECTION OF PUBLISHED DOCUMENTS FOR INCLUSION IN THE GUIDE WAS BASED ON SEVERAL CRITERIA: (1) DOCUMENT HAD TO BE DATA-ORIENTED, WITH REFERENCES FOCUSING ON SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES OR THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS LISTED IN BIBLIOGRAPHIES AND NOT DESCRIBED; (2) DATA PRESENTED IN DOCUMENT HAD TO BE RELEVANT BEYOND A SPECIFIC LOCAL AREA OR COMMUNITY, AND TIME AND FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS PRECLUDED ANY SYSTEMATIC SEARCH FOR UNIQUE LOCAL DATA RESOURCES; AND (3) TIMELINESS, WITH THE REQUIREMENT THAT DOCUMENT HAD TO BE THE MOST RECENT OR CURRENT REPORT OF ITS TYPE. THE INTRODUCTION TO THE GUIDE DESCRIBES THE CONTENTS OF THE GUIDE GENERALLY AND EXPLAINS THE BASIC FORMAT FOR DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF PUBLISHED DOCUMENTS. THIS FORMAT IS AS FOLLOWS: TITLE OF PUBLICATION, SPONSOR (AGENCY OR ORGANIZATION), GENERAL DESCRIPTION, TIME PERIOD COVERED BY REPORTED DATA, GEOGRAPHIC UNIT OF STUDY, VARIABLES OR DATA ITEMS, CROSS-TABULATIONS OR SELECTED CROSS-TABULATIONS, METHODOLOGY, SIGNIFICANT FINDINGS, ADDITIONAL COMMENTS, AND AVAILABILITY. A GLOSSARY IS INCLUDED IN THE INTRODUCTION TO DEFINE TERMS USED THROUGHOUT DESCRIPTIONS. AN OVERVIEW OF AVAILABILITY DATA BRIEFLY SUMMARIZES TYPES OF DATA IN PUBLISHED DOCUMENTS AND DESCRIBED IN THE GUIDE. A SUMMARY MATRIX FOR AFFIRMATIVE ACTION DATA INCORPORATES TABULAR DATA ON WHAT DOCUMENTS CONTAIN SPECIFIC DATA ITEMS MOST RELEVANT TO AVAILABILITY ANALYSIS. ISSUES AFFECTING DATA UTILIZATION ARE NOTED, INCLUDING HOW VARIABLES AND GEOGRAPHIC UNITS ARE DEFINED, WHAT POPULATION IS INCLUDED IN THE SURVEY UNIVERSE, WHAT SAMPLING PROCEDURES ARE EMPLOYED AND HOW LARGE THE SAMPLE IS RELATIVE TO THE TOTAL POPULATION, AND DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS PROCEDURES. APPENDIXES LIST REFERENCES THAT WERE COLLECTED BUT NOT INCLUDED IN THE GUIDE. (DEP)