Letter: Why use old data?
A reader questions why a researcher developed a report, cited in a column by Steve Kelman, based on data collected in a 2000 survey.
Regarding "Kelman: 3 secrets to productivity," I appreciated the article, but was puzzled as to why Laura Langbein chose to base her work on the Merit Systems Protection Board's 2000 Merit Principles Survey when the results of the agency's more recent 2005 survey have been available since last February on MSPB's Web site.
Possibly there were technical reasons for doing so, but results from a survey undertaken as long ago as 2000 raise concerns about the extent of current relevance, especially when the outcomes of the administration of a much more recent instrument are available.
Anonymous
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