WHERE TO FIND IT – Accessing the Inventory Providing Access to the Federal Information Base for Evidence-Based Decision Making Marilyn Seastrom Jennifer Nielsen ED Data Inventory The ED Data Inventory describes administrative program data reported to the Department of Education along with statistical data collected to allow publication of valuable statistics about the state of education in this country. The ED Data Inventory includes descriptive information about each data collection, along with information on the specific data elements in individual collections. The ED Data Inventory was developed To improve the coordination of data collections across program offices, To minimize respondent burden, To ensure responsible data management at ED, To achieve data transparency with the public about the data that ED collects and maintains, and To comply with OMB Directive M-13-13 (May 9, 2013) and now the 2018 Foundations for Evidence- Based Decision Making Act. The ED Data inventory is organized into Series and Studies. A Series is a collection of Studies that are repeated over time (for example, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a series and the 2013 NAEP is a study). Search for series or studies, Search for data files or data elements (variables) at the series or study level, Link to study home page and link to data file, and Export information on variables to a csv file for use in programming. What You Can Learn About a Series Investigator, Description of the Series, List of Studies included in the Series, and List of Series Files Dataset Title File Name, Location, Format Study Name Inventory and the ICR The Inventory components in regular type come from the ICR. The Inventory components in italics are typically not available until the data collection is completed and the data are processed. From 2013 to 2018, the ED Data Inventory was developed using manual processes. The notion of using a structured format for ICRs that could result in an electronic transfer of information to the inventory was first explored in 2014. The automation of ICRs and Inventory development is currently funded through the cross-agency priorities as part of the President’s Management Agenda. The electronic template uses both fixed and open fields, Inventory elements are tagged in the template platform, after OMB approves tagged items are exported to the Inventory.. To capture the variables and remaining metadata, link approval for release to submission of information for the Inventory Achieved response rates Date of data release URLs for initial report and data file Information on variable NCES sponsors additional Resources NCES Handbook of Survey Methods at http://nces.ed.gov/statprog/handbook/index.asp NCES Distance Learning Dataset Training at https://nces.ed.gov/training/datauser/ What You Can Learn About a Study Scope of Study—Investigator, Study Summary, Series Name, URL, Geography, Date of Collection, Periodicity, Study Population, Purpose, Age Range, Education Level, Authorizing Law Access Notes—Initial Reports and URL, Date of Public Use Data Availability and URL, Date of Restricted Use Data Availability and URL, Access Level, Contact name and e-mail address Study Files—File Name, Dataset Title, File Location, Original Dataset Format Methodology—Response Rates, Respondent Description, Data Type, Confidentiality Pledge, Universe/Sample Size, Mode of Data Collection Study Variables Establishes package, assigns roles, writes text, responds to comments, monitors progress, updates status—set-up, writing, review Develops assigned components Reviews and provides comments to package owner Agency review, approval, submits to ED, after OMB approval releases tagged items to inventory What You Can Learn About Variables Study Variables— Variable Name and Label, Extended Definition and Question Wording, and Value Labels and File Name A user can select variables of interest or select all variables in a file A user can also export information on selected variables to a csv file for use in a software package ED submits to OMB ROCIS, OMB Final review and approval How the Inventory Works WHERE TO FIND IT – Accessing the Inventory Enter this URL – http://datainventory.ed.gov/, or find it at the bottom of the NCES homepage http://nces.ed.gov Learn More About NCES Data

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What is included for a study? Each of these entries opens up an additional page of information What is included for a study? 5

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Access notes (includes list of reports issued from study and information on data access and availability) 7

Methodology Section 8

Drawing information from the OMB Information Clearance Request (Phase 1) The Cross-Agency Priorities Team provided funds for ED to develop an electronic template of fixed and open fields that: Produces the OMB ICR Internally tags the metadata entries Extracts tagged fields after the ICR is approved Extracted information electronically updates the ED Inventory 9

Drawing information from the OMB Information Clearance Request (Phases 1-4) Next Steps: Test ICR Template in NCES, IES, and another office in ED The Cross-Agency Priorities Team is providing funds for ED to Adapt and test electronic ICR template in another Department Provide documentation for government-wide implementation 10

ICR Template Add Collection and Respondents New package setup screen continued. 11

Assign Writing and Review Responsibilities ICR Template Assign Writing and Review Responsibilities New package setup screen continued. 12

ICR Template Components: Part A and Part B This screen shows all applicable information for a given package. This is the destination after clicking “Save new package” button on the previous screen capture. Also where user is taken if clicking on an active package from the user’s home page. 13

ICR Template Supporting Statement Part A, Section 2, Information Purpose This screen shows the Survey Info-level information collection for one of the survey activities specified in the setup for Part A, section 2. 14

ICR Template Supporting Statement Part A, Section 3, Collection Techniques This screen is accessed from the package home screen by clicking on the “Package Files” link at the top right. The entire package can be downloaded for proofreading or informational purposes. Attachments can be added. 15

ICR Template Supporting Statement Part A, Section 3, Collection Techniques This screen is accessed from the package home screen by clicking on the “Package Files” link at the top right. The entire package can be downloaded for proofreading or informational purposes. Attachments can be added. 16

ICR Template Add attachments, Download Entire ICR package This screen is accessed from the package home screen by clicking on the “Package Files” link at the top right. The entire package can be downloaded for proofreading or informational purposes. Attachments can be added. 17

Capturing the variables and remaining metadata Make the release of data file and documentation contingent upon providing Inventory data for Achieved response rates Information on variables Date of data release 18

ED DATA INVENTORY http://datainventory. ed ED DATA INVENTORY http://datainventory.ed.gov/ FOR MORE INFORMATION Marilyn.Seastrom@ed.gov 19