Assessing the Quality of Longitudinal Surveys

A growing concern has emerged in recent years about the use of relatively large national longitudinal surveys. This concern arises in part from a heightened sensitivity to the diminished support for new data-collection programs across the U.S. federal statistical system and the increasing competition throughout the research and policy communities for what have undoubtedly always been scarce resources for research. Despite this concern, there have yet to be developed tools for evaluating the relative or comparative value of longitudinal surveys and criteria by which more intelligent decisions can be made with respect to whether an ongoing survey should be continued or terminated This article argues that criteria are unlikely to be developed for evaluating whether one longitudinal survey is "better" than another, but that one can assess the quality and usefulness of a particular survey, and it suggests specific guidelines for such assessments.