Methodology and Documentation

Weighting

The CPS had a 6.5 percent nonresponse rate in May. There was also a 10.6 percent nonresponse rate to the Race and Ethnicity Supplement, in addition to the nonresponse to the CPS. This level of nonresponse is typical of many CPS supplements and did not differ by panel. Normally, CPS base weights go through an adjustment for household nonresponse. Because of a concern about the impact of the additional nonresponse on the Supplement, the Census Bureau did an additional nonresponse adjustment to the weights to help compensate for the Supplement's nonresponse rate. All statistical analyses were conducted using this weight that was adjusted for nonresponse to the CPS itself and the Race and Ethnicity Supplement.

The weight adjusted for nonresponse in the CPS and the Supplement is not the same as the final weight that is typically used in analyzing data from the CPS. The CPS final weights are inflated to independent estimates of the civilian noninstitutional population of the United States. The analyses of the May Supplement did NOT use the weight with these adjustments because they are based on data collected in the basic CPS including race and Hispanic origin and would distort the effects of the Supplement's experimental design. Therefore, racial and ethnic proportions from the Supplement must be interpreted within the context of the experimental design. The percentages reported may not correspond with other sources and are only intended for comparisons among the four panels.

1995 Race and Ethnicity - Sampling and Weighting Page

CPS Main Page

Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Author: Brian Kojetin-BLS/ORE
Contact: (ask.census.gov) CPS Help-Census/DSD/CPSB
Last revised: July 16, 1997
URL: http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/racethn/1995/swgting.htm