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PEDAR: Research Methodology What Colleges Contribute: Institutional Aid to Full-Time Undergraduates Attending 4-Year Colleges and Universities
The National Postsecondary Student Aid Study
The Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study
Accuracy of Estimtes
Adjustments for Inflation
Data Analysis System
Statistical Procedures
Differences Between Means
Linear Trends
Bivariate Correlations
Multivariate Analysis
Executive Summary
References
Full Report (PDF)
Executive Summary (PDF)
 Accuracy of Estimates

The statistics in this report are estimates derived from a sample. Two broad categories of error occur in such estimates: sampling and nonsampling errors. Sampling errors occur because observations are made only on samples of populations rather than on entire populations. Nonsampling errors occur not only in sample surveys but also in complete censuses of entire populations. Nonsampling errors can be attributed to a number of sources: inability to obtain complete information about all sample members (e.g., some students refused to participate, or students participated but answered only certain items); ambiguous definitions; differences in interpreting questions; inability or unwillingness to give correct information; mistakes in recording or coding data; and other errors of collecting, processing, sampling, and imputing missing data. In addition, some items may be subject to more variation over time.


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National Center for Education Statistics - http://nces.ed.gov
U.S. Department of Education