Who is not represented in the sample?
While the SESTAT data system captures the vast majority of the scientists and engineers in the United States, there are some small segments of the target population that are not captured: persons who obtained their first college degree in science or engineering between June 30, 1992 and April 15, 1993 (the reference week); persons with their first science or engineering degrees obtained abroad since April 1, 1990, but living in the U.S. during the reference week; persons working as a scientist or engineer during the reference week, but who received their first college degree (in a non-science non-engineering field) between April 1, 1990 and the reference week; persons who were living outside the U.S. on April 1, 1990 (immigrants who later arrived or Americans who returned from abroad) and did not receive a science or engineering degree in the U.S. between their arrival and June 30, 1992, but who are part of the SESTAT target population.
While the SESTAT data system captures the vast majority of the scientists and engineers in the United States, some groups are not included in some years because of when they received their degrees or where they lived at the time of the survey. For instance, people who received their first S&E degree in January 1995 would not be in the 1995 sample. This is because the 1995 sample includes recent graduates receiving their degree on or before June 1994. (The January 1995 graduates would be part of the 1997 survey sample). Descriptions of the omitted groups for each survey year are provided below. The following groups of people are not included in the 1993 databases: • people who obtained their first college degree in science or engineering between June 30, 1992 and April 15, 1993 (the reference week) • people who obtained their first science or engineering degrees obtained abroad since April 1, 1990, but were living in the U.S. during the reference week • people working as a scientist or
