War Stories from the Drug Survey
How Culture, Politics, and Statistics Shaped the National Survey on Drug Use and Health

An insider account that encapsulates thirty years of experience in conducting data science in a political context.

Joseph Gfroerer (Author)

9781107122703, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 6 December 2018

276 pages, 10 b/w illus.
23.5 x 15.6 x 1.8 cm, 0.52 kg

'Rare is it to find a comprehensive methodological and political history of an important social and epidemiological resource such as the NSDUH. Gfroerer's careful documentation of the evolution of this ongoing national survey make for a fascinating case study of real world applied research.' Timothy P. Johnson, University of Illinois, Chicago

The primary data driver behind US drug policy is the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. This insider history traces the evolution of the survey and how the survey has interacted with the political and social climate of the country, from its origins during the Vietnam War to its role in the war on drugs. The book includes first-hand accounts that explain how the data was used and misused by political leaders, why changes were made in the survey design, and what challenges researchers faced in communicating statistical principles to policymakers and leaders. It also makes recommendations for managing survey data collection and reporting in the context of political pressures and technological advances. Survey research students and practitioners will learn practical lessons about questionnaire design, mode effects, sampling, nonresponse, weighting, editing, imputation, statistical significance, and confidentiality. The book also includes common-language explanations of key terms and processes to help data users understand the point of view of survey statisticians.

Introduction
1. President Nixon launches the war on drugs
2. The survey continues, as illicit drug use peaks
3. Cocaine and new directions for the survey
4. The White House needs data and a bigger survey
5. Criticism, correction, and communication
6. The survey moves to SAMHSA
7. Rising drug use in the 1990s
8. Better sample, better analysis, but not always
9. A perfect redesign storm
10. Continuing survey design improvements
11. Analytic bankruptcy, reorganization, recovery, and resilience
12. How to redesign an ongoing survey, or not
13. Lessons learned and future challenges.

Subject Areas: History of science [PDX], Science funding & policy [PDK], Probability & statistics [PBT], Epidemiology & medical statistics [MBNS], Public administration [JPP], Crime & criminology [JKV], Social research & statistics [JHBC]