The quality and comparability of child care data in US surveys

This paper examines the quality and comparability of child care data obtain ed from eight waves of data from four nationally representative data source s: the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1986 and 1988), the Survey of Income and Program Participation (1986, 1987, 1988, and 1990), the Nationa l Child Care Survey, and the National Survey of Families and Households. We examine whether different study designs and survey techniques for asking q uestions about child care produce similar results on both the levels and de terminants of child care. We identified four main sources of difference in the data sets that could impact the quality and comparability of child care research: when the interview is conducted; screening questions used to det ermine who is asked about child care; the population of parents and childre n represented in the survey; and the way child care questions are asked. Ou r findings indicate that summer interviews and screening on mother's work s tatus produce the largest differences in the levels and effects of child ca re across these studies. Even after removing the effects of summer intervie ws and screening questions, however, substantial differences exist across t he studies, (C) 2000 Academic Press.