HA/LC Web Tools and Information

Attachment G: HA / LC Web Tools and Information

Attachment G – HA / LC Web Tools and Information
Based on lessons learned during the methodological study and the Pilot Early Career Doctorates Survey
(ECDS), the website for the 2017 ECDS will include secure high authority (HA) and list coordinators
(LC) sections. The portals provide additional guidance about the survey, enable HAs to approve the
survey online, and provide a secure mechanism for LCs to upload their early career doctorates lists.
Below are the components of the HA and LC portals, with the intended recipients (HA, LC, or both)
indicated in the section headings.
Login Screen (Both HA and LC)
Welcome to the Early Career Doctorates Survey (ECDS), sponsored by the National Science
Foundation (NSF) and by the National Institutes of Health. This site provides answers to frequently
asked questions about the survey, offers instructions for list coordinators (LCs) on how to prepare the
list of early career doctorates, and enables LCs to securely upload their lists. The survey participation
form may also be completed and submitted though through this website.
To access the portal, enter your user name and password, and then click the “Login” button.
User Name:
Password:

Login

If you need further assistance, you may e-mail [email protected] or call 1-800-848-4075.

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Attachment G: HA / LC Web Tools and Information
Welcome (Both HA and LC)
Welcome to the website for the Early Career Doctorates Survey (ECDS), sponsored by the National
Science Foundation (NSF) and by the National Institutes of Health. The purpose of this survey is to learn
about the work experiences and career paths of individuals who earned their first doctoral degree (Ph.D.,
M.D., Ed.D., etc.) in 2007 or later, hereafter referred to as early career doctorates. Early career doctorates
include all position types (postdocs, faculty, staff, etc.) and may hold any type of doctoral degree in any
field from any institution.
The work of early career doctorates is critical to the success of the U.S. academic sector and research
efforts and will influence U.S. and global scientific markets for years to come. Despite the importance of
early career doctorates, current surveys of this population are limited and extant workforce studies are
inadequate for tracking and assessing their work patterns and contributions to the U.S. economy.
The key goals of the ECDS are:
•
•
•

To improve the national statistics on early career doctorates (ECD), regardless of where they
earned their doctoral degree
To collect data from ECD that can be used by funding agencies, policymakers, and other
researchers to better understand the labor markets and work experiences of recent doctorate
recipients
To establish common definitions for different types of ECD (e.g., postdocs, junior faculty, and
other nonfaculty researchers) that can be applied across institutional contexts

Approximately 23,000 individuals from 350 U.S. academic institutions, Federally Funded Research and
Development Centers (FFRDCs), and the National Institutes of Health Intramural Research Programs will
be asked to participate in this survey.

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Attachment G: HA / LC Web Tools and Information
Frequently Asked Questions (HA version)
Q. What is the Early Career Doctorates Survey (ECDS)?
A. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the 2017 ECDS is a new survey of “early career
doctorates,” defined as individuals who earned their first doctoral degree (Ph.D., M.D., Ed.D., etc.) in
2007 or later. The survey focuses on early career doctorates who currently work in any role at one of the
institutions selected for the survey. Major topics in the ECDS include academic history, work
experiences, and career plans. The ECDS is designed to help U.S. agencies, policymakers, researchers,
and other stakeholders understand more about the work experiences and career paths of these individuals
in the early years after receiving their doctoral degree. This information will help inform decisions that
will affect the U.S. academic and research communities for years to come.
Q. How was our institution selected for the ECDS?
A. The current ECDS includes a sample of 350 institutions drawn from three employment sectors:
1) U.S. academic institutions eligible for the NSF-NIH Survey of Graduate Students and
Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering (GSS),
2) federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs), and
3) the National Institutes of Health (NIH) intramural research programs.
The sample includes a representative mix of institutions across these three employment sectors.
Q. What do we need to do to get started?
A. The first step is to complete the Survey Participation Form, where you will designate a List
Coordinator (LC) and a Communication Coordinator (CC).
• The LC is someone who can prepare a list of all individuals currently working at your institution
who earned a doctoral degree (Ph.D., M.D., Ed.D., etc.) in 2007 or later. Qualifying early career
doctorates may be working in any position type (postdoc, faculty, staff, etc.), and their doctoral
degree can be in any field and from any institution. From this complete list of early career
doctorates working at your institution, a limited number will be sampled and asked to complete a
30-minute survey. To help achieve a representative sample of early career doctorates, we request
that the list include as many of the requested data fields (e.g., doctoral degree, field, citizenship)
as possible.
• The CC is someone in your office, such as a Chief of Staff or Executive Assistant, who will be
able to assist with two communications on your behalf: a notification announcing the start of data
collection and a letter of support that will be sent to nonrespondents towards the end of data
collection.
You can provide this information through the Survey Approval Form or by completing the Survey
Participation Form and returning it by e-mail ([email protected]), mail (stamped addressed envelope
provided), or fax (1-877-653-1240).
Q: For some individuals, we don’t know the year of their doctoral degree and/or whether they
currently have a doctoral degree. Can we still participate?
A: Yes! We understand that degree information may be missing or outdated for some individuals working
at your institution. In a pilot version of the survey, we successfully developed an alternate participation
strategy in cases where degree information was not available. Survey staff are happy to discuss this option
with you in greater detail. Feel free to contact us at [email protected] or 1-800-848-4075.
Q: How many individuals will be asked to take the survey?
A: The number of individuals selected will vary based on the size of the institution. At most institutions,
we will sample no more than approximately 60 individuals. (Separate communications will inform you
about the maximum number to be sampled at your institution.) Overall, we expect to invite approximately
23,000 individuals to participate in the 2017 ECDS. In order to ensure that the individuals selected for the
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Attachment G: HA / LC Web Tools and Information
survey are representative of early career doctorates as a whole, we are seeking lists of all early career
doctorates at each institution.
Q. What privacy protections are in place for this survey?
A. Protecting respondent privacy is a priority for the ECDS. The following steps ensure that your
employees’ privacy and confidentiality are protected:
• The survey data will be used for statistical purposes only and will be safeguarded in accordance
with the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended, and the Confidentiality
Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002.
• Per the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, your data are protected from
cybersecurity risks through screening of the federal information systems that transmit your data.
• All data will be collected using secure data transfer protocols and maintained within encrypted
databases.
• Each respondent will be given unique credentials (username and password), and the survey will
be conducted over a secure internet connection (https).
• All survey staff will complete a confidentiality training and sign an affidavit of nondisclosure
before being able to work on the survey.
• Prior to publication, data will be aggregated in ways that prevent the identification of individual
respondents.
Q: What is an OMB Control Number?
A: All Federal information collection efforts must be approved by the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), and must display a valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for the Early Career
Doctorates Survey is 3145-0235, which expires on [date].
Q: Whom should I contact if I have additional questions?
A: You can reach the staff at the survey contractor, RTI International, by calling 1-800-848-4075 or emailing [email protected].

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Attachment G: HA / LC Web Tools and Information
Frequently Asked Questions (LC version)
Q. What is the Early Career Doctorates Survey (ECDS)?
A. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the 2017 ECDS is a new survey of “early career
doctorates,” defined as individuals who earned their first doctoral degree (Ph.D., M.D., Ed.D., etc.) in
2007 or later. The survey focuses on early career doctorates who currently work in any role at one of the
350 institutions selected for the survey. The ECDS is designed to help U.S. agencies, policymakers,
researchers, and other stakeholders understand more about the work experiences and career paths of these
individuals in the early years after receiving their doctoral degree. This information will help inform
decisions that will affect the U.S. academic and research communities for years to come.
Q. Who is eligible for the ECDS?
A. The ECDS is designed to gather data on the experiences of a wide array of individuals during the early
years after completing their doctoral degree. Individuals who are sampled for the survey will include
those who 1) earned any type of doctoral degree in any field from any institution in 2007 or later, and 2)
are currently working in any position in one of the following employment sectors:
-U.S. academic institutions eligible for the NSF-NIH Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in
Science and Engineering (GSS),
-federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs), and the
-intramural research programs of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
This broad definition is intended to cover postdocs, faculty, medical residents, research staff, and the full
spectrum of other full-time and part-time positions that early career doctorates may hold at ECDS-eligible
institutions such as yours.
Q. What information are you seeking from me as the List Coordinator?
A. For the ECDS, we are seeking a complete list of individuals working at your institution who qualify as
“early career doctorates” (i.e., individuals who earned any type of doctoral degree [Ph.D., M.D., Ed.D.,
etc.] in 2007 or later). From this list we will sample a limited number of individuals and invite them to
complete a 30-minute survey about their academic history, work experiences, and career plans. To assist
with the sampling process, on the list we are seeking as many of the requested data fields as you are able
to provide from existing databases.
Q: For some individuals, we don’t know the year of their doctoral degree and/or whether they
currently have a doctoral degree. Can we still participate?
A: Yes! We understand that degree information may be missing or outdated for some individuals working
at your institution. If the highest degree or its award date is not available for a certain group (e.g., staff
members), you can first send us a list of job titles from that group to review. Based on our experience
evaluating job titles at similar institutions, we will work with you to identify the job titles that would be
worth including in your list. You would then include these potentially eligible individuals to your list in
addition to any individuals who are known to qualify for the survey. For example, your final list might
include faculty, postdocs, and medical residents who are known to qualify, plus staff members whose job
titles suggest they are potentially eligible. (Individuals who are only potentially eligible would be sampled
less frequently than the individuals who are known to qualify as early career doctorates.)
Q: Are all the data fields required?
A: No, not all data fields are required, but we are seeking as much of this information as you are able to
provide by querying your administrative databases. We understand that there may be limitations in data
availability. Please let us know about any data you cannot provide and we will work with you to revise
the data request. The data fields you are able to provide will be used to help us select a representative mix
of early career doctorates from your institution.
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Attachment G: HA / LC Web Tools and Information

Q: Do our data fields need to have the same names and formats as shown in the examples?
A: In order to minimize burden on your institution, we are happy to accept the information exactly as it
comes from your database. For example, if your graduation date information is in the format “5/15/2010”
rather than “20100515,” please feel free to leave it as “5/15/2010.” Similarly, if you do not have a
requested field but have a similar one (e.g., name of doctoral institution rather than country of doctoral
institution), we can also accept the substitute field instead.
Q: Do we need to provide names and contact information for everyone on our list?
A: Many institutions provide both the fields used for sampling (e.g., doctoral year, citizenship) and the
contact information (e.g., name, e-mail address) at the same time. However, if you would prefer, you can
provide an anonymized list containing only the fields used for sampling and an ID through which you can
identify the individual. After sampling, we will follow up with you to request the contact information for
the ID numbers that were selected.
Q: If my institution has policies that require employees to approve the release of their contact
information to outside organizations, can my institution participate in the survey?
A: If your institution has policies that require employees to approve the release of their contact
information to outside organizations, we have two strategies—known as “Opt-In” and “Opt-Out”—that
we can discuss with you in more detail.
Q: Do you want us to send out an e-mail or look through resumes/CVs to get additional information
about some of the missing fields?
A: In order to minimize the burden of the survey, we only wish to use information from existing
databases. We are not seeking for you to manually gather additional information for ECDS purposes.
Q: When is the list due?
A: We recognize that the task of developing this type of list will vary significantly by institution.
Therefore, the timeline is something you will discuss with survey staff during early communications and
through regular check-ins.
Q: How do I return the list?
A: When you are ready to provide your list of early career doctorates (or your list of job titles for which
eligibility is unknown), you can access the file upload page from the menu of this List Coordinator Portal.
(If you would prefer to provide the file via an alternative method—e.g., a file transfer site that your
institution hosts—we can work with you to use a different approach, as well.)
Q: How many individuals will be asked to take the survey?
A: The number of individuals selected will vary based on the size of the institution. At most institutions,
we will sample no more than approximately 60 individuals. (Separate communications will inform you
about the maximum number to be sampled at your institution.) Overall, we expect to invite approximately
23,000 individuals to participate in the 2017 ECDS. In order to ensure that the individuals selected for the
survey are representative of early career doctorates as a whole, we are seeking lists of all early career
doctorates at each institution.
Q: Whom should I contact if I have additional questions?
A: You can reach the staff at the survey contractor, RTI International, by calling 1-800-848-4075 or emailing [email protected].

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Attachment G: HA / LC Web Tools and Information
List Preparation Steps (LC only)
1. Finding data sources: Determine which database(s) contain information about individuals who work at
your institution in any role (full- or part-time). We are interested in identifying all individuals at your
institution who earned a doctorate or doctorate-equivalent in the last ten years. This includes postdocs,
faculty (both tenure-track and non-tenure-track), research staff (e.g., staff scientists, lab managers),
clinical staff (e.g., medical residents), and all other workers (e.g., administrators, librarians). At some
institutions, this may be available in a single HR system, while other institutions may have information
spread across multiple systems (e.g., faculty affairs database for faculty, HR system for staff, postdoc
office records for postdocs).
2. Checking availability of degree information: Identify whether the database(s) contain current
information about each individual’s highest degree and the year in which it was earned. If current degree
information is not available for some or all workers (e.g., staff), go to step 3. Otherwise, if current degree
information is definitively known for all types of positions, go to step 4.
3. Using a job title approach (when current degree information is missing): If any groups are lacking
current information about the highest degree or the year in which it was earned, we request that you first
provide a list of job titles and associated departments for that group. Based on our experience evaluating
job titles at similar institutions, we will work with you to identify the job titles that you should include in
your list. This step enables us to include individuals whose job titles are commonly associated with early
career doctorates, even when current degree information is not available. A limited number may be asked
to complete the survey, where the introductory questions confirm an individual’s eligibility. You can
provide this job title list using the upload data page.
4. Preparing the list of early career doctorates: Individuals to include in your list are those who currently
work at your institution and either
a. are shown in your records as having earned their first doctoral degree (Ph.D., M.D., Ed.D.,
Pharm.D., D.N.P., etc.) in 2007 or later or
b. hold a job title commonly associated with early career doctorates, as determined in conjunction
with survey staff in step 3.
For each individual, provide as many of the requested data fields as feasible, though it may not be
possible for you to provide all data fields. We are only seeking data that are accessible from existing data
sources. The information that you provide in this list will be used to sample a limited number of
individuals to complete the 30-minute survey. Having a variety of fields will help ensure that the
individuals selected are representative of the early career doctorate population.
• If you prefer not to provide contact information for the entire list, you can first provide a list that
just includes the fields used for sampling (e.g., doctoral year, race, field) and, instead of the
individual’s contact information, an ID number. After we sample from this anonymous list, we
will provide you with the ID numbers that were selected, and you can send a second file that
contains the contact and sampling information for the individuals to which those ID numbers
correspond.
• If institutional policies require employee permission for you to release contact information, we
have two approaches that will enable you to participate. These are known as the “Opt-in” and
“Opt-out” methods. Please contact the survey staff at 1-800-848-4075 or [email protected] if you
would like more information about these methods.
5. Submitting the list of early career doctorates: To provide your list of early career doctorates, you can
use the upload data page. If you would prefer to use an alternative method, such as a file-transfer site

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Attachment G: HA / LC Web Tools and Information
hosted by your institution, you can reach the survey staff at 1-800-848-4075 or [email protected] to discuss
this alternative method.

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Attachment G: HA / LC Web Tools and Information
Survey Approval Form (HA Version)
To indicate that <> will participate in the Early Career Doctorates Survey, please
confirm or identify a list coordinator and a contact coordinator, enter your e-mail address (to receive a
confirmation), and press the “Submit” button.
Nominated List Coordinator (LC):
Check here to nominate the proposed LC

Proposed List Coordinator:
<< Contact Name>>

_______________________________________
Name of List Coordinator (if not same as proposed)

<< Contact Title>>
<< Mailing Address>>

_______________________________________
Title

<< Mailing city, state, ZIP code>>

_______________________________________
Mailing address

<< Telephone number>>
<>

_______________________________________
City, State, ZIP code
_______________________________________
Telephone Number
_______________________________________
E-mail address
Nominated Communication Coordinator (CC):
Check here to nominate the LC
_______________________________________
Name of List Coordinator (if not same as proposed)
_______________________________________
Title
_______________________________________
Telephone Number
_______________________________________
E-mail address

_______________________________________
Your e-mail address

[Submit]

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Attachment G: HA / LC Web Tools and Information
Upload Data (LC version)
Steps for Using the File Upload
1. Select an Upload Type
A. List of job titles
B. List of early career doctorates—with both contact and sampling information
C. List of early career doctorates—with sampling information only
2. Select the File to Upload
Click the "Browse" button below and navigate to the folder containing your upload file and open
it.
3. Provide Details about the File (hidden if coordinator selected option A in 1 above)
Does this file…

Yes,

Some but

all

not all

…cover postdocs?
…cover faculty (both tenure-track and
non-tenure-track)?
…cover research staff (e.g., staff
scientists, lab managers)?
…cover clinical staff (e.g., medical
residents)?
…cover all other workers (e.g.,
administrators, librarians)?
…cover both full-time and part-time
workers?
…cover all fields/disciplines in which
eligible individuals work?
…cover all types of doctoral degrees
(Ph.D., M.D., Ed.D., Pharm.D., D.N.P.,
etc.) that eligible individuals hold?
…include affiliated hospitals,
branch/satellite campuses, research
institutes, and centers?
…include individuals identified as
possible ECD based on a job title review
(used only when doctoral year or highest
degree is unknown)?
[Submit]

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No

N/A—we

Text box (if “Some but

have none not all” or “No”)

Attachment G: HA / LC Web Tools and Information
Contact Information (both HA and LC)

Phone:
E-mail:

1-800-848-4075
[email protected]

National Science Foundation
Kelly S. Phou
Project Officer
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics
National Science Foundation
4201 Wilson Boulevard
Suite 965
Arlington, VA 22230

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RTI International
Peter B. Einaudi
Project Director
Educational & Workforce Development
RTI International
3040 Cornwallis Road
P.O. Box 12194
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709