Justification for testing of ACS Translation

The Census Bureau plans to conduct research under the generic clearance for questionnaire pretesting research (OMB number 0607-0725). Cognitive interviews will be conducted to evaluate the translation of the American Community Survey (ACS) CAPI materials in six non-English languages: Vietnamese, Polish, Portuguese, Arabic, Haitian Creole, and French.

We intend to cognitively test four ACS CAPI materials:

1. Introductory letter. This one-page letter is handed to respondents as a standard part of the ACS interview. It is similar in content to the letter included in the mailing package and it explains the purpose of the ACS, confidentiality assurances, and data uses;

2. Thank you letter. This brief letter thanks the respondent for participating in the ACS.

3. Informational brochure. This multi-colored trifold brochure contains basic information about the ACS, including regional office (RO) phone numbers; and

4. Q&A brochure: This booklet contains frequently asked questions. It explains in a clear format answers to major questions about the survey, its uses, privacy and confidentiality issues, the mandatory nature of the survey, etc.

A copy of the English version of each of these materials is enclosed.

This research has the follow aims:

1. to evaluate whether the translations meet the Census Bureau translation requirements of accuracy, fluency, and appropriateness;

2. to determine whether respondents of the target languages can understand the intended messages the way English-speaking respondents do with the English version of these materials;

3. to identify what types of informed-consent messages are conceptually difficult to translate and to suggest ways to overcome these difficulties.

Between February and May, 2008, a maximum of 140 interviews will be carried out with these ACS CAPI materials by a contractor and staff from the Center for Survey Methods Research. These 140 interviews will be conducted in six languages and in two phases; about 70 cognitive interviews will be carried out in the first phase and about 70 in the second phase to allow for possible revisions informed by interim results. There will be 22-24 interviews in each of the six target languages.

Recruiting will focus on monolingual speakers of the target languages. Respondents will be from a variety of educational level backgrounds and will vary by the amount of time they have lived in the United States, by age, and by gender.

Respondents will be recruited through flyers, newspaper advertisements, and through the contractors’ ties to local ethnic communities in the Washington DC metropolitan area, Chicago, IL; Buffalo, NY: and Detroit, MI. Interviews will be conducted at the offices of community organizations used to recruit respondents, and at locations convenient to interviewees.

The cognitive interviews will be conducted mainly using retrospective probing techniques. All interviews will be tape-recorded with the respondents’ permission, to facilitate summarization of results. Respondents will be paid $40 for their participation.

Participants will be informed that their response is voluntary and that the information they provide is confidential and will be seen only by employees involved in the research project.

We estimate that the average length of the interview sessions will be 60 minutes. Thus, the maximum estimated burden for this research is 140 hours.

The contact person for questions regarding the data collection for this project is listed below:

Yuling Pan

Center for Survey Methods Research

Statistical Research Division

U.S. Census Bureau

4600 Silver Hill Road

Washington, D.C. 20233

(301) 763-4950

[email protected]