Survey of Doctorate Recipients Contact Update

The Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR) Contact Update collection has concluded. We appreciate your interest in updating your contact information to help contain costs for the 2021 cycle. The 2021 SDR begins in August, and we look forward to your participation. For more information on the SDR, please click on the About the SDR, FAQs or Contact Us buttons below.

About the SDR

NCSES use the SDR data to prepare two Congressionally mandated reports: Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering and Science & Engineering Indicators . More generally, your response to the SDR allows government agencies and academia to use these data for planning decisions regarding education. It is also used by employers to understand and predict employment, industry, and salary trends.

Distribution of internationally residing US-trained SEH doctorate holders.

The 2017 SDR estimated that about 135,700 of approximately 1.1 million US-trained science, engineering, and health (SEH) doctorate recipients were residing abroad. They are found in many countries around the world, with the largest numbers in Asia (China and India in particular), North America (Canada) and Europe.

SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Doctorate Recipients: 2017.
Percent of U.S. residing employed SEH doctorate holders reporting R&D as their primary or secondary work activity, by field of degree.
$Overview: the plot shows the fractions of SEH doctorate holders performing R&D as the primary or secondary work activity, among those residing and working in the US.$
Over 60% of U.S. residing employed SEH doctorate holders performed R&D as their primary or secondary work activity in 2017. This rate holds across most broad and fine fields, with engineers having some of the highest fractions, over 70%, and psychologists having some of the lowest fractions, below 40%.

SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Doctorate Recipients: 2017.
Taxonomy of Science, Engineering and Health Doctoral Degree Fields

Doctorate degrees with Science, Engineering and Health (SEH) are broken down into 8 broad fields and further divided into more specialized fields, for a total of 77 fine fields. This dynamic graph shows how the different SEH fields are classified for reporting.

SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Doctorate Recipients: 2017.

FAQs

1 What is the Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR)? ▼

2 What is the purpose of the SDR? ▼

The SDR is designed to provide demographic and career history information about science, engineering, and health doctorate holders. Government agencies and academic researchers use data and reports from the SDR to make planning decisions regarding science and engineering research, training, and employment opportunities. Employers also use the SDR to understand trends in employment sectors, industry types, and salary. Students who want to learn about the relationship between graduate education and careers often obtain valuable information from the SDR.

This survey is the only comprehensive source of data on the careers of science, engineering, and health doctorate holders from U.S. academic institutions. It serves as an essential and irreplaceable resource on the training, work experience, and career development of a highly educated population.

3 Who sponsors and who collects data for the SDR? ▼

The SDR is sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) within the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NSF and NIH are agencies of the United States government that fund research and development. The missions of the NSF and NIH are to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; and to secure national defense. Through grants and contracts, NSF and NIH sponsor scientific research, develop programs designed to strengthen scientific potential, support educational programs, and appraise the impact of research upon industrial development and innovation.

The NSF has contracted with Westat, an employee owned research firm, to collect data for the SDR. You can learn more about Westat at: https://www.westat.com/.

4 Who is included in the SDR? ▼

This survey is completed by individuals who have received a doctorate in science, engineering, or health from a U.S. academic institution. This includes those who received a doctorate in the biological, agricultural, and environmental life sciences, computer and information sciences, mathematics and statistics, the physical sciences, psychology, the social sciences, engineering, and health.

5 Why should I update/confirm my contact information? ▼

By updating or confirming the contact information that SDR has on record for you, you not only help to ensure that the data collected every two years represents the wide range of career and employment experiences of doctorate recipients like yourself, you also help NCSES use their resources more efficiently by making it easier for us to reach you at the start of every cycle.

6 How do I update or confirm my contact information? ▼

You may update or confirm your contact information in one of two ways:

1. online via a secure connection to the Internet or
2. by telephone with a professional interviewer.

Please contact the survey contractor, Westat, toll-free within the U.S. at 1-855-200-0528, outside the U.S. at 301-684-5701, or send an email to SDR@westat.com if you have questions about accessing the online form.

7 Approximately how many people participate in the SDR? ▼

8 How did the SDR get my name? ▼

Your name came from the Doctorate Records File (DRF). The DRF is a database that contains the name and degree information for all individuals who earned a research doctorate in the United States. You were scientifically and randomly selected from this database to be part of the SDR.

9 Where did you get my contacting information/phone number/email/address? ▼

It is important to the National Science Foundation (NSF) to reach all sampled doctorate holders selected for the SDR. To reach everyone, Westat uses a variety of sources to obtain contact information, including information you provided when filling out either the Survey of Earned Doctorates or a previous cycle of the SDR as well as publicly available sources online.

10 How are the SDR data used? ▼

The SDR is the only national, comprehensive source of data on the careers of science, engineering, and health doctoral degree holders educated in the U.S. Completing the survey is an easy way to contribute to your educational community and to the public interest.

Data from SDR help government, business, academic, and industrial leaders to forecast labor demand and supply in many fields--your participation increases the accuracy of these data.
Educational institutions use data from SDR to establish and modify scientific or technical curricula--your participation helps these institutions make better decisions.
Many U.S. government agencies use data from SDR to get an overall sense of scientific, engineering, and health resources, and then formulate STEM policies in view of these resources--your participation increases the accuracy of the data on which these policy decisions are made.
Private industry uses SDR data to understand employment and salary trends and to develop recruitment strategies and benefits packages that are effective--your participation helps industry leaders better understand the scientific and technical workplace.
College students use information from SDR to help make decisions about graduate study and about careers--your participation makes the data more useful to these students.

11 What are some recent publications and research done using the SDR? ▼

The National Science Foundation (NSF) produces a variety of publications; some are congressionally mandated. NSF publications can be found on the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) website, http://www.nsf.gov/statistics.

SDR Data in Action includes an extensive list of publications that use SDR data.

12 I am now retired. Why do you still need my information in the SDR? ▼

The survey includes people in a variety of employment situations. Learning that you've retired--whether you've retired but have since returned to work part time or full time, or whether you've stopped working entirely--is important information that makes SDR trend data more complete and more useful. The National Science Foundation (NSF) is especially interested in how the career paths of retirees may change over time and in the current economy--an economy in which some retirees need to return to work, perhaps in fields that are very different from the fields of their doctoral degrees, and in which some workers may retire either earlier or later than planned. The only way to track such career changes and trends is to include all respondents in the survey, even those retired individuals who intend to stay retired. Your participation can help to ensure that our information genuinely represents a complex and changing workforce.

13 I do not work in my doctorate field of study. Why do you still need my information in the SDR? ▼

The SDR includes people working in a variety of industries and fields. Some people still work in their doctorate degree field and others do not. People work outside of their field of study for a variety of reasons and the National Science Foundation (NSF) is interested in understanding the career pathways of all individuals who earned a doctorate degree whether they are still working in field or not. Your participation will help ensure that the career pathways of all doctorate degree-holders are represented.

14 I do not live or work in the United States. Why do you still need my information in the SDR? ▼

Scientists and engineers with doctoral degrees are highly trained and mobile. Many move from one country to another to take advantage of opportunities in their fields. Understanding the employment opportunities and career paths of science, engineering, and health doctorate holders is important no matter where they live or work.

15 Does SDR also seek to survey scientists and engineers who live abroad? ▼

16 Is the study website secure? ▼

Yes! Westat operates a secure computer facility dedicated to confidentiality and data protection of this and other federal studies. Your data will be encrypted and transmitted to and from Westat web servers through the use of Transport Layer Security (TLS) technology. This proven security protocol is widely used to support e-commerce transactions, server account authentication, and data encryption.

17 Will my answers to the SDR be confidential? ▼

Definitely. The National Science Foundation (NSF) and Westat maintain the highest standards of confidentiality. Your name and other identifying information, as well as that of all other participants, will be kept strictly confidential by the NSF and Westat as required by the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 as amended, and the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002.

No information obtained in the course of this survey may be disclosed in a manner in which the individual supplying the information is identifiable, except to a very small number of authorized staff at NSF and Westat, and then only for survey administrative purposes, not for dissemination. Any violation of your confidentiality is subject to penalties of up to five years in prison and/or as much as a $250,000 fine.

18 How is my privacy protected? What assurances can you make that information I provide to the SDR will remain confidential? ▼

All information captured in the SDR is treated as confidential, protected under the Privacy Act of 1974 and the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act (CIPSEA) of 2002. Both statutes mandate that SDR data must be exclusively used for statistical purposes. Under CIPSEA, data may not be released to unauthorized persons. Willful and knowing disclosure of protected data to unauthorized persons is a felony punishable by up to five years imprisonment and up to a $250,000 fine.

Per the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, your data are protected from cybersecurity risks through screening of the Federal systems that transmit your data.

Participation in the SDR is also entirely voluntary, and there are no penalties for failing to answer any particular question(s). A respondent's answers are never reported individually, but instead are grouped with answers from other persons in the survey to create statistical and analytical reports. In short, at no point does SDR identify individual respondents and NSF never publishes individual responses.

For more information, see Privacy Information.

19 What authority does the National Science Foundation (NSF) have to collect this information? ▼

Within the NSF is the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES), a federal statistical agency. As mandated by the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, the mission of NCSES is to serve as a central Federal clearinghouse for the collection, interpretation, analysis, and dissemination of objective data on science, engineering, technology, and research and development. To accomplish this mission, NCSES is tasked to collect, acquire, analyze, report, and disseminate statistical data related to the science and engineering enterprise in the United States and other nations that is relevant and useful to practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and the public, including statistical data on--

research and development trends;
the science and engineering workforce;
United States competitiveness in science, engineering, technology, and research and development; and
the condition and progress of United States STEM education.

Prior to the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, information for the SDR was collected under authority provided to NSF in the National Science Foundation Act of 1950. That Act states, "The National Science Foundation is authorized to provide a central clearinghouse for the collection, interpretation, and analysis of data on scientific and engineering resources and to provide a source of information for policy formulation by other agencies of the Federal government."

20 I have a disability that makes completing surveys online difficult. May I update or confirm my contact information in another way? ▼

21 I do not like to complete surveys online. May I update or confirm my contact information in another way? ▼

22 Where may I see the results from prior SDR surveys? ▼

The National Science Foundation (NSF) publishes SDR results and data in two notable report series: Science and Engineering Indicators 2019 and Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering 2021. Beyond these reports, the NSF also publishes special topic reports relating to the doctoral workforce. These publications are available on-line at:

https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvydoctoratework

23 Is additional information available? ▼

For additional information about the Survey of Doctorate Recipients, please visit the National Science Foundation (NSF) web site:
https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvydoctoratework

For additional information about Westat please visit the Westat website:
https://www.westat.com/

24 How do I contact the National Science Foundation (NSF)? ▼

25 How is the survey contractor, Westat, concerned with the rights or welfare of those who may participate in the SDR? ▼

Westat is committed to rigorous ethical guidelines in all interactions with survey participants. As a result, Westat follows a series of principles that are stipulated in the Code of Federal Regulations, and has set up an Institutional Review Board (commonly referred to as an IRB) to oversee all concerns about human subjects in its research projects. This IRB is required to make decisions without regard to any financial concerns that Westat may face.

If you have any questions about your rights as an SDR participant, call Westat’s Human Subjects Protections office at 1-888-920-7631. Please leave a message with your first name, the name of the research study that you are calling about (Survey of Doctorate Recipients), and a phone number beginning with the area code. A Westat IRB representative will return your call as soon as possible.

26 I am on the National Do Not Call Registry. Why do I still get calls about the SDR? ▼

The primary objective of the National Do Not Call Registry is to stop telemarketing or sales calls. The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required by law to provide a central clearinghouse for the collection, interpretation, and analysis of data on scientific and engineering resources. Conducting the SDR and asking you to participate in the survey is one of the ways that NSF fulfills this lawful mandate. Westat is managing the survey on behalf of the NSF, and you have been scientifically selected to represent many doctoral degree holders similar to you--this is why you have been contacted and we hope that you will choose to participate in this important survey.

27 I did not recently earn my doctorate, why are you contacting me now? ▼

In 2019, SDR updated the sample design to allow for improved estimation. As a result, individuals representing the U.S.-trained SEH doctorate population under age 76 including some who earned their degree many years ago have been invited to participate in the survey.

28 How do I know this study is legitimate? ▼

All federal government data collections are required to be reviewed by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The OMB number for the 2021 SDR is 3145-0020, Expiration Date 08/31/2022. You may also contact the NSF SDR Project Officer, Daniel Foley, at dfoley@nsf.gov.

29 What if my question is not in this list of SDR Frequently Asked Questions? ▼

The SDR sponsor, the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) within the National Science Foundation, has contracted with Westat to conduct data collection. If you have any further questions about the survey, please contact Westat:

Toll-free (within the U.S.): 1-855-200-0528
Outside the U.S.: 301-684-5701
Email: SDR@westat.com

Alternately, you may reach Westat SDR project staff via U.S. mail at the following address:

Survey of Doctorate Recipients
Westat
1600 Research Boulevard, RC B16
Rockville, MD 20850

30 Is the SDR 508 compliant? ▼

NCSES is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for people with disabilities and is continually improving the user experience for everyone. The Survey of Doctorate Recipients website is partially conformant with WCAG 2.0 level AA, which means some content may not fully conform to the accessibility standard. If you encounter any accessibility barriers while using this site, please contact us at 1-855-200-0528 from within the U.S.

If you have a question about the survey, contact Westat:

Wendy Hicks, Project Director
Survey of Doctorate Recipients

SDR@westat.com

1-855-200-0528 (toll-free within the U.S.)

301-684-5701 (outside the U.S.)
To speak directly with someone at NCSES at the National Science Foundation, contact:

Daniel Foley, Project Officer
Human Resources Statistics Program
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics
National Science Foundation

dfoley@nsf.gov
To comment on the time you spent on the survey, contact:

National Science Foundation

National Science Foundation
2415 Eisenhower Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22314
Attn: NSF Reports Clearance Officer.
You can also comment by writing to:

Office of Management and Budget

Paperwork Reduction Project
(OMB Number 3145-0020, Expiration date 08/31/2022)
Washington, DC 20503

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About the SDR

Distribution of internationally residing US-trained SEH doctorate holders.

Percent of U.S. residing employed SEH doctorate holders reporting R&D as their primary or secondary work activity, by field of degree.

Taxonomy of Science, Engineering and Health Doctoral Degree Fields

FAQs

Contact Us

If you have a question about the survey, contact Westat:

To speak directly with someone at NCSES at the National Science Foundation, contact:

To comment on the time you spent on the survey, contact:

You can also comment by writing to: