Lists & Structure of Governments

Data Quality

Surveys are subject to two types of error, sampling error and nonsampling error. Because the Governments Integrated Directory covers all governments, there is no sampling error. However, the data are subject to nonsampling error, which includes all other sources of survey error such as nonresponse, incorrect reporting, coverage, misclassification of governments, and inaccurate coding of data.

A variety of procedures were applied to keep nonsampling errors to a minimum, including the following:

1. Review of Federal, state, and local legislation to ensure that newly authorized types of entities were accounted for, established entities were being correctly classified, and abolished entities were removed from the universe.
2. Review of secondary sources.

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