| Source |
| The National Science Foundation (NSF) NSF Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities which is conducted biennially by the NSF Division of Science Resources Statistics (SRS). |
| Contact |
|
Leslie Christovich
Director, Academic Infrastructure Project
Research and Development Statistics Program
Division of Science Resources Statistics
National Science Foundation
4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 965
Arlington, VA 22230
Telephone: (703) 292-7782
Fax: (703) 292-9091
Internet: lchristo@nsf.gov
|
| URL |
| Source data and documentation are available from the National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics. |
| Description |
| This variable indicates Federal obligations for all programs
in which the principal purpose is to provide support for
construction, acquisition, renovation, modification, repair,
or rental of facilities, land, works, or equipment for use
in INSTRUCTION in science or engineering. |
| These data are collected biennially through the National Science Foundation's (NSF's) congressionally mandated Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities (Facilities Survey). The survey begam in 1986 in response to Congress' concern about the state of research facilities at the Nation's colleges and universities. NSF's 1984 reauthorization legislation, P.L. 99-159, mandated a data collection to identify and assess the research facilities needs of academic institutions.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) have cosponsored all cycles of the survey.
Recognizing the expanding use of networking and computing capacity in conducting research, a new set of questions focusing on computing and networking capacity was added to the FY 2003 Facilities survey.
The 2003 survey was mailed to academic and biomedical institutions in November of 2003 and data collection ended May 21, 2004.
Since these data were last collected in 2001, several changes have been made to the population, some of the survey questions, and the release of public data. Some of the changes include:
Research space is broken out by categories of space: laboratory, laboratory support, offices, and other research space.
The threshold for reporting repair and renovation and construction projects was raised from $100,000 to $250,000. Information on construction projects is now provided for each individual project rather than as a calculation of total costs for all construction projects.
Separate questions ask about all medical school data, replacing questions about biological sciences and medical sciences inside or outside a medical school.
A new section on networking and computing capacity has been added to the survey.
Individual institutional data for most items is being made publicly available. Three survey items will remain confidential: information on indirect costs, animal research space, and condition of facilities. These confidential items are being released only as aggregate totals without individual, institutional breakdowns.
Research-performing institutions are defined as institutions having at least $1 million in R&D expenditures or as having received $1 million in NIH funding. |
| Availability |
| Data are available for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 survey. |
| Current As Of |
| Data are current as of November 2005. |
| Population Size and Structure |
| The 2003 population consisted of 465 research-performing academic institutions and 191 nonprofit biomedical research institutions in the U.S.
Of the 465 academic institutions, 92 percent returned surveys. Of the 191 biomedical organizations, 94 percent returned surveys.
Research-performing academic institutions were defined as colleges and universities with $1 million or more in research and development (R&D) expenditures. In addition, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with any R&D expenditures were included in the survey. Each academic institution's level of R&D expenditures was determined by the 2002 NSF Survey of Research and Development Expenditures at Universities and Colleges. Military institutions, Veteran's Administration institutions, and Federally Funded R&D Centers (FFRDCs) were excluded. The biomedical institution frame was a list of nonprofit biomedical research organizations and hospitals in the U.S. that received at least $1 million in NIH research funding in FY 2002.
Johns Hopkins University and Applied Physics Lab completed separate survey forms, but their data were combined on the data file and are treated as a single institution in all published tables and study reports. The final population of 465 counts Johns Hopkins University and Applied Physics Lab as a single institution. |
| Weighting |
| The 2003 Facilities survey attempted to obtain responses from all institutions in the defined population. Consequently, one of the usual sources of survey error, sampling error, is not of concern in this survey. However, as is the case in almost all surveys, nonresponse error is of concern. In the 2003 Facilities survey, 92 percent of all eligible institutions responded.
These data are NOT weighted to account for unit nonresponse. To obtain data that are weighted for unit nonresponse, use the NSF Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities (Weighted and Imputed) data source. The methodology for weighting those data for unit nonresponse is described in the help for that data source. |
| Estimation/Imputation |
| These data are NOT imputed for item nonresponse.
To obtain data that are imputed for item nonresponse, use the NSF Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities (Weighted and Imputed) data source. The methodology for imputing those data for item nonresponse is described in the help for that data source. |
| Quality Control |
| These data have been checked and verified to correspond
to data in the following NSF publication: |
| "Federal Science and Engineering Support to Universities, Colleges, and Nonprofit Institutions: Fiscal Year 2005" |