The Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System (SESTAT) comprises three demographic surveys of scientists and engineers sponsored by sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) within the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF): the National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG), the National Survey of Recent College Graduates (NSRCG), and the Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR). The three component surveys used similar questionnaires, survey reference dates, data collection periods, and data-processing procedures to facilitate integration for SESTAT. The three surveys were designed to provide maximum coverage of the target population—namely, scientists and engineers—with special emphasis given to relatively rare populations (e.g., doctorate recipients, recent graduates, and minorities). Overall, SESTAT provides a comprehensive picture of the number and characteristics of individuals in the United States with a bachelor's or higher-level degree and their employment, with a focus on those having science and engineering (S&E) degrees or working in S&E occupations. In the 2000s, this definition was expanded to include S&E-related degrees and occupations.

Starting in 2013, SESTAT consolidated the number of demographic surveys. SESTAT now includes data from the SDR and the NSCG and no longer reports data from the NSRCG. The NSRCG was discontinued after the 2010 survey because estimates of recent college graduates are now available through the the NSCG.

Reasons for the change. A major impetus for this decision was the availability of the American Community Survey (ACS) as a sampling frame for the NSCG. NCSES leveraged the use of ACS to add a large number of young graduates to the NSCG sample, which then offset the need to conduct the NSRCG. The decision to redesign SESTAT was also based on the limited use of the the NSRCG as a stand-alone data file and the cost savings associated with discontinuing the NSRCG and simplifying the SESTAT integration processes.

Collection of feedback from the S&E community. NCSES conducted extensive outreach efforts with a broad audience, including, but not limited to, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Association for Institutional Research, Association of American Medical Colleges, Association of American Universities, Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering, Council of Graduate Schools, NCSES Human Resources Experts Panel, National Center for Education Statistics, Census Bureau, and NSF. NCSES did receive feedback that the NSRCG data related to educational pathways and to financial burden was valuable to the community. Thus, NCSES added young graduates to the NSCG sample and added questions to the NSCG on community college attendance and financial sources of support.

Evaluation of the potential changes. NCSES evaluated the redesign of SESTAT in regard to improving timeliness, quality, and efficiency and to reducing overall survey costs. The decision to examine whether SESTAT should be redesigned was motivated in part by a Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) recommendation from a 2008 report on Using the American Community Survey for the National Science Foundation's Science and Engineering Workforce Statistics Programs. This CNSTAT recommendation encouraged NSF to use the opportunity provided by the introduction of the ACS to reconsider the SESTAT design.

Background. Since 1993, SESTAT has provided a unique source of information on the education and employment of the college-educated U.S. S&E workforce by integrating three surveys: NSCG, NSRCG, and SDR. The establishment of SESTAT design was based on recommendations from a 1989 CNSTAT panel study report, Surveying the Nation's Scientists and Engineers—A Data System for the 1990s. This CNSTAT recommendation encouraged NSF to target the population of college graduates trained in S&E fields and those with employment in S&E occupations, to conduct the postcensal survey of college graduates, to conduct a survey for new graduating bachelor's or master's degree recipients, and to continue to support the ongoing SDR. The 2010 survey cycle introduced the first redesign of SESTAT during its nearly 20 years of existence.

SESTAT is a comprehensive and integrated system of information about the employment, educational, and demographic characteristics of scientists and engineers in the United States. It covers those with a bachelor's degree or higher who either work in or are educated in S&E, although some data on individuals who are not scientists or engineers are also included.

SESTAT was created by NSF to provide data for policy analysis and general research. SESTAT contains data from three NSF-sponsored demographic surveys: NSCG, NSRCG, and SDR. Data beginning with the 1993 surveys are available as public use files or through the SESTAT Data Tool, which allows users to generate custom data tables from individual or integrated survey data.

SESTAT is the Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System. It is composed of information about the employment, educational, and demographic characteristics of scientists and engineers in the United States from three demographic surveys sponsored by NSF: the National Survey of College Graduates, the National Survey of Recent College Graduates (discontinued after 2010), and the Survey of Doctorate Recipients. SESTAT was created by NSF to provide data for policy analysis and general research. Data are available for download as public use files or through the SESTAT Data Tool, which allows users to generate custom data tables.

Labor Force Information

For the employed

For the unemployed and those not in the labor force

Professional activities

Education

Other Information

Family related

Demographics

NSF pledges confidentiality to each survey respondent. Data collected are subject to the provisions of the Confidentiality Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002. SESTAT protects respondent confidentiality through a variety of means. Not all data collected in SESTAT are available in public use formats.

In SESTAT, scientists and engineers are defined as either those who received a college degree (bachelor's or higher) in an S&E or S&E-related field or those who work as a scientist or engineer or in an S&E-related occupation and have a bachelor's degree or higher in any field. Examples of degree fields and occupations are listed below.

Degree Fields

S&E

S&E related

Non-S&E

Occupations

S&E

S&E related

Non-S&E

The SESTAT survey questionnaires are available at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/question.cfm. 

For tables. see publications in the series Characteristics of Scientists and Engineers with U.S. Doctorates, Characteristics of Recent College Graduates, and SESTAT: Characteristics of Scientists and Engineers in the United States..

The SESTAT Data Tool gives users the ability to generate customized data tables and view technical documentation.

The SESTAT Data Tool is available at http://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/sestat/sestat.html. 

The SESTAT Data Tool provides instructions for logging on and assistance in using the built in Help features, table generation, and the public use data.

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System (SESTAT), [year]. Available at https://ncses.nsf.gov/data-collections/us-workforce/2013.