Science Starts Not after Measurement, but with Measurement

Kenneth Prewitt
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Kenneth Prewitt: Carnegie Professor of Public Affairs and the vice president for Global Centers at Columbia University

The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2010, vol. 631, issue 1, 7-16

Abstract: Federal statistics should be viewed and treated as part of the nation’s scientific infrastructure. The empirical social sciences dependent on those statistics produce social knowledge directly relevant to social problem analysis and policy formation. Statistics primarily come from the census and federal sample surveys, but increasing use is made of administrative and digital data. These two data sources have not benefited from the scientific attention given to survey data. Federal statistical agencies, if given the resources and the authority, are the appropriate part of the federal government to insist on data quality, privacy protection, and data access for the scientific community.

Keywords: new information order; digital data; administrative data; scientific infrastructure; data access (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:anname:v:631:y:2010:i:1:p:7-16

DOI: 10.1177/0002716210372461

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