Technical Report:

National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, 1995-96 (NPSAS:96) Methodolgy Report

October 1997

(NCES 98-073) Ordering information

Introduction

This report describes methodological procedures and results for the 1995-96 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:96). This study, which was preceded by a substantial field test,/1 was conducted for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of Education, by Research Triangle Institute (RTI), assisted by MPR Associates, Inc. and the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), as principal subcontractors.

This introductory chapter describes briefly the background, objectives, methodological issues, and products of NPSAS:96. In Chapter 2, study design and method are summarized. Descriptions and overall outcomes of the several stages of data collection are presented in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 presents evaluations of procedures used to collect information from institutions, students, and parents, and examines issues related to the quality of the data collected. Chapter 5 provides descriptions of data editing, coding, variable construction and other activities associated with producing study data files. The final chapter describes the analysis weight construction and identifies precision of study estimates. Materials used during the NPSAS:96 survey, as well as other related supporting material, are provided as appendixes to the report and cited, where appropriate, in the text.

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For more information about the content of this report, contact Andrew Malizio at Andrew.Malizio@ed.gov.