Round 12 Advance Letter

What Direction Are We Headed?

O
Shed a Little Light
nly you can help policymakers
and researchers see where
your generation is going. The
NLSY97 deals with so many important
questions about the direction your life is
taking, including:
• What are your needs for healthcare?
• Has your household changed?
• Do you need additional training?
• Have your benefits changed?
To name just a few!

Please Respond Today!
We realize that your life is very busy and your free time is limited. There are four easy ways you can
contact us to schedule your interview.

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•
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Call us at 1-800-789-1346
E-mail us at [email protected]
Visit our website at www.norc.org/nlsy97
Fill out, detach and mail the card below

You can also call or e-mail with questions or feedback about the study. The average interview takes roughly
an hour. You will receive a financial gift as a token of our appreciation. You also will receive a certificate that
credits you for 5 hours of community service. As always, your participation is voluntary, and the information
you provide is protected under Federal law. For more information about the survey and how we protect
your privacy, please see the questions and answers on the back of this letter. As a small thank you, we have
included a memo clip.
We are grateful for your continuing participation and look forward to speaking with you again soon. And
again, thank you!
After completing the card below please detach and place in the pre-paid envelope.

First Name: _______________________________________
Last Name: _______________________________________
Address: _________________________________________
Apt. or Unit Number: _______________________________
City, State, Zip Code: _______________________________
Phone (Home): ____________________________________
Phone (Work): ____________________________________
Phone (Cell): _____________________________________
E-mail: __________________________________________
Are you Moving? When and Where? __________________
Best time to call: Days______________Times____________

WHY IS THIS STUDY IMPORTANT? Thanks to your help, policymakers and researchers will have a better understanding of the
work experiences, family characteristics, health, financial status, and other important information about the lives of people in your
generation. This is a voluntary study, and there are no penalties for not answering questions. However, missing responses make it
more difficult to understand the issues that concern people in your community and across the country. Your answers represent the
experiences of hundreds of other people your age. We hope we can count on your participation again this year.

WHO AUTHORIZES THIS STUDY? The sponsor of the study is the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor
Statistics. The study is authorized under Title 29, Section 2, of the United States Code. The Center for Human Resource Research
at The Ohio State University and the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago conduct this study under a
contract with the Department of Labor. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the questionnaire and has
assigned 1220-0157 as the study’s control number. This control number expires on October 31, 2009. Without OMB approval and
this number, we would not be able to conduct this study.

WHO SEES MY ANSWERS? We want to reassure you that your confidentiality is protected by law. In accordance
with the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002, the Privacy Act, and other applicable Federal laws,
the Bureau of Labor Statistics, its employees and agents, will, to the full extent permitted by law, use the information you provide for
statistical purposes only, will hold your responses in confidence, and will not disclose them in identifiable form without your informed
consent. All the employees who work on the survey at the Bureau of Labor Statistics and its contractors must sign a document agreeing
to protect the confidentiality of your data. In fact, only a few people have access to information about your identity because they need
that information to carry out their job duties.
Some of your answers will be made available to researchers at the Bureau of Labor Statistics and other government agencies, universities,
and private research organizations through publicly available data files. These publicly available files contain no personal identifiers, such
as names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and places of work, and exclude any information about the States, counties, metropolitan
areas, and other, more detailed geographic locations in which survey participants live, making it much more difficult to figure out the
identities of participants. Some researchers are granted special access to data files that include geographic information, but only after
those researchers go through a thorough application process at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those authorized researchers must sign
a written agreement making them official agents of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and requiring them to protect the confidentiality
of survey participants. Those researchers are never provided with the personal identities of participants. The National Archives and
Records Administration and the General Services Administration may receive copies of survey data and materials because those agencies
are responsible for storing the Nation’s historical documents.

HOW MUCH TIME WILL THE INTERVIEW TAKE? Based on preliminary tests, we expect the
average interview to take about 60 minutes. Your interview may be somewhat shorter or longer depending on your circumstances. If
you have any comments regarding this study or recommendations for reducing its length, send them to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
National Longitudinal Surveys, 2 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Washington, DC 20212.

WHERE CAN I FIND MORE INFORMATION? To find additional information about the
survey, visit www.bls.gov/nls and click on the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 link.