An official website of the United States government
United States Department of Labor
United States Department of Labor
The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information,
make sure you're on a federal government site.
The site is secure.
The
https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any
information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.
Office of Survey Methods Research
SHARE ON:
More Information
Published Year: 2013
Survey/Program(s): Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII)
Catalog: Statistical Survey Paper
Download PDF
Nonresponse Bias in the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses
Abstract
The Bureau of Labor Statistics Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses collects data to estimate the counts and rates of work-related injuries and illnesses. Participation by private sector employers is mandated by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. For state and local government establishments, however, state laws determine whether the survey is mandatory. While private sector response rates reflect the mandatory nature of the survey, response rates for states in which public sector response is voluntary are low. To determine whether the survey suffers from bias attributable to non-response, government units were classified as either “likely“ or “unlikely“ respondents using a logistic regression model. Counts and rates of injuries and illnesses for these groups were then compared to provide an indication of potential nonresponse bias. This paper describes the methodology used for this analysis and presents some preliminary results from the analysis.