Note to Reviewer

Note to Reviewer of 1220-0157

OMB approved the collection of the NLSY97 on October 25, 2004, with the following terms of clearance.

“TERMS OF CLEARANCE:

This collection is approved with the revised questions on political participation provided by BLS via e-mail on 10/25/2004. BLS will also ensure that all race questions conform to OMB standards.”

With respect to the questions on political participation, round 10 of the NLSY97 will repeat the questions that OMB approved for administration in round 8. The round 10 questions will include minor changes regarding the date of the election and whether the interview takes place before or after the date of the election.

With respect to the questions on race, OMB specifically raised the following issue in response to the 2004 submission from BLS:

“Some of the race questions in the instrument include a “something else” category that does not conform with the OMB standards (e.g., see items YSAQ2-298D10, YSAQ2-300G, YSAQ2-312F). Please remove this category from all race items or provide a justification as to why this category is necessary and how it will be used.”

As OMB instructed, the “something else” category has been removed. Items YSAQ2-298D10 and YSAQ2-300G now include only the following response options:

1 White

2 Black or African American

3 Asian

4 Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

5 American Indian or Alaska Native

Item YSAQ2-312F will not be asked in the round 10 survey. All other items in the survey that ask about race comply with OMB standards, as they did previously.