This technical report compares the effect on victimization rates of old and new methodology used in the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), a major source of national statistics on crimes and victims. In the mid-1970's, the National Academy of Sciences reviewed the NCVS and identified possible improvements in survey methodology and scope. BJS then sponsored a research consortium with several agencies, including the Bureau of the Census, to investigate the issues raised and began a collaborative survey redesign effort in the late 1970's to improve the survey's accuracy and utility. From January 1992 through June 1993, half the sample was surveyed with the new method and half with the old to measure the effect on victimization rates. This report compares the two methods.
See the related document Criminal Victimization, 1973-95.