DON JANG

VP & Director of Center for Excellence in Survey Research
NORC, University of Chicago

Challenges and Opportunities in Collecting and Disseminating High Quality Data
for the Public Good in a Data Revolution Era

ABSTRACT:

Survey data collection has been changing disruptively with the advancement of technology, the availability of new and different data sources, and the growing demand for timely dissemination of reliable information by government agencies. It is not coincidental that the foundations for evidence-based policy making act was passed by Congress early 2019. As part of the effort to support this act, a few U.S. federal agencies, including the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), have been leading to develop and implement a Federal Data Strategy (FDS).

The goal of FDS is to leverage data as a strategic asset. Among the many key steps to reach this goal—of using data as a strategic asset—is data quality. In this talk, I will share a few thoughts on government agencies’ current efforts to ensure data quality while addressing timeliness and budget constraint issues. I will also discuss the change of the data life cycle from sequential to integrated data processing, as well as the utilization of various data sources. Such a paradigm shift produces challenges as well as opportunities for statisticians and social science researchers to meet those challenges by developing new methods and innovative solutions.

Friday, October 11, 2019 11:30 a.m. BLOC 113