C. Services Provided by the
Office of Research, Information and Planning

The Office of Research, Information and Planning (ORIP) fulfills the following functions: it disseminates data collected in employer work force surveys (described below) to Commission officials at headquarters and in the field, to Congress, to employers, to state and local government officials, to researchers, and to the media; it maintains necessary data and keeps abreast of automated technology for the storage, analysis and dissemination of data; it provides analytic support for investigations which involves the construction of large analytic databases and the construction of statistical evidence; it conducts research and studies relating to the impact of Commission programs; it serves as back up to survey processing; and it serves as a statistical research source for other areas of the Commission.

ORIP’s analytic support for investigations runs the gamut of technical support necessary to conduct a class investigation.

1. Provision of Work Force Data

Nearly every employer in the United States with 100 or more employees is required to file an Equal Employment Survey with the Commission. Private employers file an EEO-1, referral unions file an EEO-3, state and local governments file an EEO-4, elementary and secondary level school districts file an EEO-5, and institutions of higher education currently file an IPEDS report with the Department of Education serving as our EEO-6 report. Therefore a report describing the work force of any large employer is available upon request.

Aggregate statistics or availability data can be obtained from ORIP through the summary of any of the reports mentioned above or through the 2000 Census data. All of this data, the EEO-1 through EEO-6 and the Census data, are available for various labor market parameters, including job categories and geographic area. ORIP will prepare special computer-generated reports upon request. Additionally, a great deal of this data is aggregated by various labor market characteristics and published annually for private employers and biennially for state and local governments in our Job Patterns books. ORIP also provides technical assistance in assessing EEO-1 data using the EEO-1 Desktop application.

2. Assessment of Targets

ORIP will assist field offices in comparing an employer’s profile to aggregated data. This helps predict the possible impact of potential Commissioner Charges, directed age investigations, and charges being considered for expansion to a class investigation. Assistance includes determining appropriate labor markets and applying appropriate statistical significance tests.

3. Development of Requests for Information

ORIP is available to assist in framing initial requests for work force information stored on computer systems, and interpreting those responses. ORIP relies on existing Commission guidance in adopting a two-step approach that first requests a description of the respondent’s computer system and then requests specific computerized data. ORIP will recommend language for the initial request, will provide detailed assistance in interpreting the system description, and will assist in drafting the request for the actual information.

4. Construction of Analytic Databases

Class investigations most often involve large employers. A large work force necessitates the use of complex computerized personnel files. ORIP will provide assistance in converting the data from its raw form or widely used software to databases that can be readily analyzed. Initially this most often involves reading and copying computer tapes and verifying the accuracy of the transfer. The data is then converted into a SAS database.

5. Data Analysis

ORIP will develop descriptive and inferential statistics that can serve to bolster the evidence developed in the investigation. The statistics range from the simple displays of data, calculation of means, and construction of frequency distributions to the conduct of statistical significance tests.

ORIP attempts to provide services in a manner most compatible with the needs and resources of the field office. Any number of approaches can be developed. For example, ORIP can provide independent analysis of specified issues. At the other extreme, ORIP can provide very detailed on-the-job training to enable investigators to independently develop statistical evidence in the future. Inquiries and requests can be directed to Ron Edwards, Social Science Research Specialist, at (202) 663-4949.

6. Web Resources

This page was last modified on May 18, 2005.

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