Update on the NCVS Instrument Redesign

• In Event: An Update on Efforts to Modernize the National Crime Victimization Survey Instruments

Abstract

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) has initiated a multiyear effort to improve the efficiency, reliability, and utility of the NCVS. The effort had three main goals: modernize the organization and content of the NCVS instrument, increase the quality of information collected and efficiency of the instrument flow, and improve the measurement and classification of crime. This presentation will provide updates on this effort to redesign the entire NCVS survey instrument. From October 2019 to March 2020, BJS, in collaboration with Westat, conducted a large-scale national field test to compare the performance of the current NCVS instrument and procedures against the redesigned instrument. The field test included an experimental design to compare the current NCVS to the redesigned instrument, and two versions of the screening instrument. This presentation details BJS’s decisions on the new survey instrument, based on findings from the field test and other research. It will also provide a timeline for this multiyear redesign project, including anticipated milestones for the implementation phase.

Authors

• Jennifer Truman, Bureau of Justice Statistics

• Heather Brotsos, Bureau of Justice Statistics