An e-Signature Survey
Determining Access To & Availability
Of Shared Secrets
From past research, the IRS has a base of information about Taxpayers’ attitudes toward use of Self-Select PIN and possible e-Signature options. What the IRS needs now is information about Taxpayer behavior as it relates to possible different components of shared secrets used in identifying Taxpayers using a PIN as their signature. Specifically, the IRS needs to know which shared secrets they have, have ready access to, and are likely to have with them while completing their Federal Income Tax return (or having it completed for them). Research is needed to secure this type of behavioral information, which is not available in Taxpayer data or otherwise.
The IRS has identified 12 specific Taxpayer targets for this research. Each has a different combination of preparation method and signature method this year vs. last year, and learning about each is important to understanding their shared secrets portfolio.
Objectives Of Research
The purpose of the e-Signature Shared Secrets Survey is to survey the 12 target audiences and determine which shared secrets items they have, which are easily available to them, and which are practical as potential components of the e-Signature shared secrets requirements.
Methodology
This study would be conducted via telephone methodology because of the availability of phone numbers for potential respondents and for the higher response rate expected with telephone sampling vs. alternative methods. The contractor is Russell Research, Inc., and all interviewing would be conducted from its national telephone interviewing center in Wayne, NJ, using its interviewing staff. Lists will be provided by the IRS for each of the 12 target audiences. The contractor will screen through those lists on an nth sample, random basis and complete a total of 200 interviews with each segment. After completing all fieldwork, Russell will tabulate the data and analyze the total sample, each target segment, and combinations of different target segments.
Sample Design
A total of 2,400 interviews will be conducted in this study – 200 per each of the 12 target groups.
Data Collection Date
If approved by OMB, the 2,400 interviews will be conducted in the period of early January through late February, 2008.
Data To Be Collected
Data to be collected are detailed in the attached survey instrument/questionnaire.
How Data Will Be Used
Results will be used to meet the objectives set forth under “Objectives Of The Research”.
How Data Will Be Analyzed
Analysis of the survey data will be conducted by Russell Research in total, by segment, and by different combinations of segments.
Following are the confidence intervals (i.e., margin of error) for figures from different possible analytical samples or combinations of samples. We show rounded confidence intervals at the (least sensitive) 50% level as well as at the (more sensitive) 10% and 90% levels – all at the 95% confidence level (2-tailed testing):
@50% @10% or 90%
Total In The Total Sample Analytical Point Of 2,400 ± 2% ± 1%
Total In Any Analytical Point Of 1,200 ± 3% ± 2%
Total In Each Segment Of 200 ± 7% ± 4%
Who Is Conducting Research
The research is being conducted by Russell Research, Inc.
Location
The research will be conducted from the national telephone interviewing facilities of Russell Research in Wayne, New Jersey.
Cost
“The total cost for this study is estimated to be $153,976.57.”
Stipend
The survey consists of approximately 10 minutes of interviewing. Therefore, no stipend is needed.
Expected Response Rate
The response rate for this study is expected to be approximately 55-65%.
Burden Hours
The survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete across 2,400 total respondents.
Based on the in-going goal being n=2,400 ending sample size and a response rate as high as 65%, a total of 3,692 potential respondents will have to be called in order to secure the 2,400 ending sample. 3,692 minus 2,400 leaves 1,292 non-participants.
The contact time to determine non-participation could be up to 1 minute, with the resulting burden for non-participants being 1,292 x 1 = 1,292 minutes / 60 minutes = 21.54 burden hours.
Then, for those who do participate, the length of the survey is 10 minutes, with the time burden for that group being 2,400 x 10 minutes = 24,000 total minutes / 60 minutes = 400 burden hours.
Thus, the total burden hours for the study would be (21.54 + 400 =) 421.54 hours.
Efforts To Not Duplicate Research
The IRS has no other surveys among Taxpayers exploring the shared secrets issues, therefore, there is no duplication with other research.
Privacy, Security, Disclosures, Confidentiality
Russell Research has in place strict procedures for non-disclosure of respondent information, which have been a part of its work for the IRS since the late 1990’s. In addition, not even the IRS will know the identity of survey respondents as this is shielded from all view beyond the staff at Russell Research (who are trained in and monitored for adherence to Government non-disclosure procedures).
Attachment 1
Questionnaire for the survey – a single questionnaire covering all target audiences.
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | Word Document |
| Author | Larry Hooper |
| Last Modified By | mdsloa00 |
| File Modified | 2007-10-26 |
| File Created | 2007-10-26 |