Methodological Research to Support the National Crime Victimization Survey: Self-Report Data on Rape and Sexual Assault – Pilot Test

• NCJ Number: 256011
• Author(s): David Cantor, Ph.D., Westat; Darby Miller Steiger; Reanne Townsend; John Y. Hartge; Robert E. Fay; Antonia Warren; Leanne L. Heaton; Suzanne Kaasa; Aaron Maitland; Hanyu Sun; Greg Norman; Michael Jones, Westat; Shannan M. Catalano, Ph.D., Bureau of Justice Statistics; Allen J. Beck, Ph.D., Bureau of Justice Statistics
• Date Published: January 2021
• Length: 549 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2011-NV-CX-K074
• Agencies: BJS-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Third-Party Report; Report (Grant-Sponsored)

Abstract

This paper describes the methodology, key findings, recommendations, and limitations of the Rape and Sexual Assault Pilot Test. The Bureau of Justice Statistics initiated the study to develop recommendations on the best methods to collect data on rape and sexual assault within the National Crime Victimization Survey program, as data collections using different methodologies and definitions have generated competing estimates on the level of sexual victimization in the United States over the past two decades.