Using administrative record data to evaluate the quality of survey estimates - ARCHIVED

The Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) is a new Census Bureau panel survey designed to provide data on the economic situation of persons and families in the United States. The basic datum of SIPP is monthly income, which is reported for each month of the four-month reference period preceding the interview month. The SIPP Record Check Study uses administrative record data to estimate the quality of SIPP estimates for a variety of income sources and transfer programs. The project uses computerized record matching to identify SIPP sample persons in four states who are on record as having received payments from any of nine state or Federal programs, and then compares survey-reported dates and amounts of payments with official record values. The paper describes the project in detail and presents some early findings.