The Research and Development Surveys (RADS) include several surveys on research and development performed or funded by businesses within the United States. The data available date back to 1972 even though the history of this data dates to 1953. The surveys serve as the primary source of information on R&D performed by industry within the United States. This data can be used to assess trends in R&D expenditures. Government agencies, corporations, and research organizations use the data to investigate productivity determinants, formulate tax policy, and compare individual company performance with industry averages. Individual researchers in industry and academia use the data to investigate a variety of topics and while preparing professional papers, dissertations, and books. Completion of four items on the questionnaire are mandated by law. These data have the same key Federal Tax identifiers and therefore can be consolidated under this one data entry. 

The Business Enterprise Research and Development (BERD) Survey and its predecessors are the primary sources of information on research and development (R&D) performed or funded by businesses within the United States since 1953. The BERD Survey was developed and is cosponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics within the National Science Foundation and by the Census Bureau, which collects and tabulates data for the survey in accordance with an agreement between the two agencies. Results are used to assess trends in the performance and funding of business R&D. The annual survey examines a nationally representative sample of companies in manufacturing and nonmanufacturing industries.

Its predecessors were the Survey of Industrial Research and Development (SIRD) (1953–2007), the Business R&D and Innovation Survey (BRDIS) (2008–16), and the Business Research and Development Survey (BRDS) (2017–18). Note that SIRD and BRDIS collected statistics for businesses with five or more employees. BRDS produced (and the BERD Survey produces) statistics for businesses with 10 or more employees. 

Beginning in survey year 2018, companies that performed or funded less than $50,000 of R&D were excluded from tabulation. In prior years, companies that performed or funded any amount of R&D were tabulated. This change has affected the comparability of these estimates to those published in prior years, although it is estimated that companies that performed or funded less than $50,000 of R&D accounted for a very small percentage of total domestic R&D. SIRD, BRDIS, and BRDS all collected data on the full range of R&D activities, but only BRDIS collected data on business innovation activities. Data on business innovation activities have been collected by the Annual Business Survey (ABS) since 2017. Statistics on the R&D activities of businesses with one to nine employees are also collected by the ABS.

Research and Development Surveys

The Annual Business Survey (ABS) provides information on selected economic and demographic characteristics for businesses and business owners by sex, ethnicity, race, and veteran status. Further, the survey measures research and development (for microbusinesses), new business topics such as innovation and technology, as well as other business characteristics. The ABS is conducted jointly by the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics within the National Science Foundation. The ABS replaces the five-year Survey of Business Owners (SBO) for employer businesses, the Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs (ASE), the Business R&D and Innovation for Microbusinesses survey (BRDI-M), and the innovation section of the Business R&D and Innovation Survey (BRDI-S). The ABS collects the following information from employer businesses:
--Owner characteristics, including the gender, ethnicity, race, and veteran status of the principal owner(s) from all firms in the sample;
--Various business characteristics, including financing, from all firms in the sample;
--Research and development activity and costs from firms with less than 10 employees; and
--Innovation practices from all firms in the sample.
Additional owner topics include military service, owner acquisition, job functions, number of hours worked, primary income, prior business ownership, age of owner, education and field of degree, citizenship and place of birth, and reason for owning the business. Other business topics include number of owners and percent ownership, family owned and operated, business aspirations, funding sources, profitability, types of customers, types of workers, employee benefits, home operation, Web site use, and business activity.

Annual Business Survey

The National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG) began in 1993 and has been conducted biennially to provide individuals, educational institutions, businesses and the Federal Government with the information they need to make important decisions. The survey provides data on the number and characteristics of individuals with a bachelor's or higher degree, with a special focus on individuals with education and/or employment in science or engineering. The survey includes age, educational history, citizenship, disability status, occupational/employment information, race and ethnicity, salary sex, student loan debt, job satisfaction and work-related training. It samples individuals who are living in the United States during the survey reference week, have at least a bachelor's degree, and are younger than 76.

National Survey of College Graduates

Includes educational institution identifiers for degrees earned and state-level identifiers for residency and employer location, which are not available on the PUF. Values of salary and income are rounded and top-coded on the PUF.

The Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR) provides demographic, education, and career history information from individuals with a U.S. research doctoral degree in a science, engineering, or health (SEH) field. The SDR is sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics and by the National Institutes of Health. Conducted since 1993, the SDR is a unique source of information about the educational and occupational achievements and career movement of U.S.-trained doctoral scientists and engineers in the United States and abroad.

Survey of Doctoral Recipients

The Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) began in 1957-58 to collect data continuously on the number and characteristics of individuals receiving research doctoral degrees from all accredited U.S. institutions. Information from this survey becomes part of the Doctorate Records File (DRF). The DRF contains data on all earned doctorates granted by U.S. universities, in all fields from 1920 to the present. The results of this annual survey are used to assess characteristics and trends in doctorate education and degrees. This information is vital for educational and labor force planners within the federal government and in academia.

Survey of Earned Doctorates

Includes unique ID variable that allows linkage across survey years (e.g., 2013+2015+2017+2019+2021)

The National Survey of Recent College Graduates, conducted from 1973 through 2010, was a cross-sectional biennial survey that provided demographic and career information about individuals holding a bachelor's or master's degree in a science, engineering, or health field from a U.S. academic institution. The survey sampled individuals living in the United States who received their degree in the prior 2 or 3 academic years and were under age 76. Results from the NSRCG help data users understand and predict trends in education, employment opportunities, and salaries of recent graduates.

National Survey of Recent College Graduates

Survey of Doctorate Recipients

Includes educational institution identifiers for degrees earned and state-level identifiers for residency and employer location, which are not available on the PUF. RUF includes additional detail for various variables including demographic characteristics and degree fields. Values of salary and income are rounded and top-coded on the PUF.

The Early Career Doctorates Survey (ECDS) gathers in-depth information about individuals who earned their first doctoral degree (PhD, MD, or equivalent) in the past 10 years and work at academic institutions and federally funded research and development centers. Unique in scope, the ECDS includes professional and research doctorate holders from all fields trained in the United States and abroad. Sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics within the National Science Foundation and by the National Institutes of Health, the ECDS provides new data on the demographics, work experiences, and career paths of individuals in the first years following the completion of their doctoral studies.

Early Career Doctorates Survey

This dataset contains just over 115,200 records of persons with a science, engineering or S&E-related degree and/or occupation, weighted to represent an estimated 28.9 million persons in the U.S. educated or working as scientists or engineers during the reference week of October 1, 2013. Data from two 2013 surveys (Survey of Doctorate Recipients, and the National Survey of College Graduates) were integrated into this combined database to provide information about the employment, educational and demographic characteristics of scientists and engineers in the United States. This public database contains variables that were created to protect the confidentiality of individuals.

Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System

Includes additional information on geographical location and employemnt in the academic sector for doctorate holders, and more specific details on demographic characteristics including race and ethnicity.

The Administrative Data Research Facility (ADRF) is a secure cloud-based computing platform designed to promote collaboration, facilitate documentation, and provide information about data use to the agencies that own the data. The ADRF has provided secure access to over 100 confidential government datasets from 50 different agencies at all levels of government. More information on ADRF is available at https://coleridgeinitiative.org/adrf/.

Remote access to restricted-use data at the authorized licensed location via the the Administrative Data Research Facility (ADRF) by a connected, networked computer.  

Researchers may access restricted-use National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) data at Research Data Centers (RDCs) located in Hyattsville, MD, Atlanta, GA, Rockville, MD, and Washington DC (government employees only). The NCHS RDCs are open by appointment only during regular business hours. The NCHS RDC computers are not connected to the Internet, and they have standard statistical software. An RDC Analyst will review all materials brought into the RDC and will review any notes, code, or output the researcher may want to take out of the RDC. Electronic devices (e.g., cell phones and laptops) are not permitted in the RDC. Some NCHS projects are authorized to access NCHS data at Federal Statistical RDCs (FSRDC). Non-US Citizens: In general, non-US citizens are not granted access to NCHS RDCs and are encouraged to use Federal Statistical RDCs to access restricted-use NCHS data.

Access via physical data enclaves in Atlanta, GA; Hyattsville, MD; Rockville, MD; or Washington, DC (government employees only).

NCSES Secure Data Access Facility (SDAF) houses NCSES restricted-use data and provides secure remote access to researchers. After researchers have submitted a restricted-use data application, received approval from NCSES, and have been trained on how to use the SDAF, they can login using an approved computer and a private internet connection. Each researcher has access to their own, personal file space and to a suite of software that can be used to store, access, and analyze data. For more information on accessing NCSES restricted-use data, please visit https://ncses.nsf.gov/about/licensing. 

The NCSES Secure Data Access Facility is a virtual data enclave where approved researchers access NCSES restricted-use data.

USDA offers offsite remote access via a secure internet connection using the researcher’s own computer and web browser to approved datasets for data analysis within the Data Enclave. Each researcher has access to their own personal file space and to a suite of software that can be used to store, access, and analyze data.

Remote access through a virtual data enclave.

Access via a physical data enclave at the Social Security Administration in Washington, DC.

The ICPSR physical data enclave is located in the Perry Building on the campus of the University of Michigan.

Access via the physical data enclave at ICPSR in Ann Arbor, MI.

The ICPSR virtual data enclave allows users access to restricted data via their own computers using a virtual desktop. 

Remote access through ICPSR`s virtual data enclave.

Data can be used by the researcher(s) at their institutions via a method and following requirements set by the agency owning the data. These might include a non-networked computer, a secure office, or other provisions deemed necessary to ensure security.

Data can be used at the user`s institution following the license agreement.

Researchers share four secure workstations at BEA’s headquarters at the Suitland Federal Center in Suitland, MD. Workstation use is by appointment only. Due to pandemic-related restrictions that currently prevent access at the physical data enclave, BEA is temporarily providing access at the user`s domicile. A security clearance is required to access the BEA network. 

Access via a physical enclave at BEA`s headquarters in Suitland, MD.

BLS Onsite access is available in a researcher room at the BLS national office in Washington, DC.  Researchers with approved projects can reserve time during normal business hours to use BLS workstations connected to an internal server where all data and project files are stored.  More information is available at www.bls.gov/rda/onsite-at-bls.htm. 

Access via a designated researcher room at the BLS national office in Washington, DC.

BLS offers offsite limited remote access to restricted data through a Virtual Data Enclave for two survey files:  NLSY Geocode and CFOI-Masked data.  More information is available at www.bls.gov/rda/offsite.htm. 

Remote access to limited restricted-use data through a virtual data enclave. 

Federal Statistical Research Data Centers (FSRDCs) are Census Bureau facilities, housed in partner institutions, that meet all physical and information security requirements for access to restricted–use micro data of the agencies whose data are accessed there. Remote access via secure Virtual Desktop Interface (VDI) is permitted for researchers working with selected data, at the discretion of the data-owning agency. All FSRDC researchers must obtain the Census Bureau`s Special Sworn Status and successfully complete a thorough background investigation prior to accessing an RDC.

Federal Statistical Research Data Centers (FSRDCs) are Census Bureau facilities, housed in partner institutions, that meet all physical and information security requirements for access to restricted–use micro data of the agencies whose data are accessed there.

Remote access to the IRS network via a secure VPN line using a government laptop issued and configured by IRS IT.

Remote access to the IRS network via secure VPN line using government laptop issued and configured by IRS IT.

Access at IRS Headquarters, Submission Processing Center, or other satellite (field) offices.

Title	Last Modified
Research and Development Surveys RDG 793 Census Bureau	06-20-2024
Annual Business Survey RDG 2472 Census Bureau	03-29-2024
National Survey of College Graduates RDG 680 Census Bureau	02-06-2024
Survey of Doctoral Recipients RDG 17580 Census Bureau	08-05-2024
Survey of Earned Doctorates RDG 17600 Census Bureau	08-14-2024
National Survey of College Graduates RDG 2280 National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics	08-22-2024
National Survey of Recent College Graduates RDG 5469 National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics	08-22-2024
Survey of Doctorate Recipients RDG 2282 National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics	08-22-2024
Early Career Doctorates Survey RDG 5468 National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics	08-22-2024
Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System RDG 5488 National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics	08-22-2024

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