Use of Administrative Records in Evidence-Based Policymaking

• Author: Robert M. Groves,George J. Schoeffel
• DOI: 10.1177/0002716218766508
• Published date: 01 July 2018
• Date: 01 July 2018
• Subject Matter: Major Elements of the Evidence-Based Movement

ANNALS, AAPSS, 678, July 2018 71

DOI: 10.1177/0002716218766508

Use of

Administrative

Records in

Evidence-Based

Policymaking

By

ROBERT M. GROVES

and

GEORGE J. SCHOEFFEL

766508ANN THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMYADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS IN EVIDENCE-BASED POLICYMAKING

research-article2018

Record systems used to administer programs often

contain information useful for evaluating the effective-

ness of a program. Administrative records are most

often designed to facilitate processes key to the mission

of the program. Data structures, quality assurance,

quality control, and updating processes are generally

defined by the needs of the program. Statistical uses of

administrative data, common to evaluation studies, face

a predictable set of benefits and challenges. This article

reviews these issues.

Keywords: administrative data; privacy; data quality;

access; data

Evidence-based policymaking or adminis-

tration generally requires formal evalua-

tion of the design, execution, and outcomes of

a given organization’s activities. Over time,

leaders of organizations assess the good and

bad features of their work, and customers are

asked whether the organization’s product or

service was useful to them. The “evidence” for

evaluations can come from many sources. In

the commercial sector, the measurement of

production processes, service provision, and

consumer proclivities have inspired continuous

improvement feedback loops between the

designers of products and services and consum-

ers in an attempt to optimize outcomes.1

Correspondence: bgroves@georgetown.edu

Robert M. Groves, Gerard Campbell SJ Professor in the

Departments of Mathematics and Statistics and the

Department of Sociology, is the provost of Georgetown

University. His research has focused on influences on

survey participation, the use of adaptive research

designs to improve statistics, and privacy-related con-

cerns affecting statistical agencies.

George J. Schoeffel is a researcher for the Committee on

National Statistics at the National Academies of Science.

His current research focuses on combining multiple

data sources for better public policy.