Assessing comparability of available data on characteristics of the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics workforce: Canada, United Kingdom, and United States

Data on the characteristics of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workers are available from a variety of national surveys and administrative data including labor force surveys, population censuses or annual population surveys, and official immigration data. The factors that reduce data comparability can usually be grouped into three general categories: (1) the original purpose for which the data were collected; (2) factors related to the analytical methods used such as the definition of occupational or industry grouping; and (3) factors related to data collection; for example, whether data collection is part of an administrative process. In order to increase understanding of the current and future global supply of human resources in STEM fields, there needs to be greater cross-national comparability of data. This project investigates the feasibility of obtaining comparable estimates from existing national and international data sources and the extent to which relatively standard methods, such as interpolation, may be used to formulate comparable indicators from existing data sources. The scope of the project is limited to three countries, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

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Data on the characteristics of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workers are available from a variety of national surveys and administrative data including labor force surveys, population censuses or annual population surveys, and official immigration data. The factors that reduce data comparability can usually be grouped into three general categories: (1) the original purpose for which the data were collected; (2) factors related to the analytical methods used such as the definition of occupational or industry grouping; and (3) factors related to data collection; ...  [+] Show more