ACS Messaging Testing Round 2
Protocol
PART 1: PRESENTATION OF ENVELOPES AND OBSERVATION
I. Census Pre-notice
SET-UP: Around March 7th, [show date on calendar] you would receive this letter in the mail. Please treat it as you would if you were getting it at your house, and remember to think out loud as you do. [Hand respondent mailing.]
OBSERVE:
To what extent does R look at envelope?
didn’t look
glance
scan
read
study
Does R seem to notice any physical features of the envelope?
logo
other
3. Does R say anything about the envelope? If so, what?
4. To what extent does R seem to look at/read the letter text?
How much of it?
didn’t look
glance
scan
read
study
Does R say anything about the text? What?
Does R put letter back into envelope?
6. List any facial expressions or body language related to this task.
Anything else?
II. Census Initial Questionnaire Package
SET-UP: Around March 16th, [show date on calendar] you would receive this in the mail. Please treat it as you would if you were getting it at your house, and remember to think out loud as you do. [Hand respondent mailing]
INTERVIEWER NOTE: If R asks about whether or not to complete form, ask them just to take a look through it.
OBSERVE:
1. To what extent does R look at envelope?
didn’t look
glance
scan
read
study
2. Does R seem to notice any physical features of the envelope?
logo
mandatory
thickness
other
3. Does R say anything about the envelope? If so, what?
4. To what extent does R look at/read the letter text?
How much of it?
a. didn’t look
b. glance
c. scan
d. read
e. study
5. Does R seem to notice any physical features of the letter?
color
bold print
logo
other
6. Does R say anything about the text? If so, what?
7. Does R compare this letter to the pre-notice letter?
8. List any facial expressions or body language related to this task
III. ACS Pre-notice envelope and letter
SET-UP: Around March 18th, [show date on calendar] you would receive this letter in the mail. Please treat it as you would if you were getting it at your house, and remember to think out loud as you do. [Hand respondent mailing.]
OBSERVE:
1. To what extent does R look at envelope?
didn’t look
glance
scan
read
study
2. Does R seem to notice any physical features of the envelope?
color
ACS name
U.S. Census Bureau in green box
Return address (DOC)
census logo at bottom
other
Does R say anything:
about the link of the ACS and Census? If so, what?
Anything else? What?
4. Does R seem to compare ACS envelope with Census envelope?
5. To what extent does R look at/read text of letter?
How much of it?
a. didn’t look
b. glance
c. scan
d. read
e. study
6. Does R seem to notice any physical features of the letter?
bold print
other
7. Does R say anything about the text, including:
“ACS is separate from Census”
“required by U.S. law”
“some households, including yours, will receive both”
“must do both”
8. Does R compare this ACS pre-notice letter with any census letter?
9. Does R place the ACS pre-notice letter back in its envelope?
10. List any facial expressions or body language related to this task.
IV. ACS Initial Questionnaire Packet
SET-UP: On March 22nd, [show date on calendar] you would receive this packet in the mail. Please treat it as you would if you were getting it at your house, and remember to think out loud as you do. [Hand respondent mailing.]
INTERVIEWER NOTE: If R asks about whether or not to complete form, ask them just to take a look through it.
OBSERVE:
1. To what extent does R look at envelope?
didn’t look
glance
scan
read
study
2. Does R seem to notice any physical features of the envelope?
color
ACS name
U.S. Census Bureau in green box
Return address (DOC)
census logo at bottom
other
3. Does R say anything:
about the link of the ACS and Census? If so, what?
Anything else? What?
4. Does R seem to compare ACS envelope with Census envelope?
5. How does R take materials out of the envelope? Does R look at the letter before going to the questionnaire?
6. To what extent does R look at/read the cover letter?
How much of it?
a. didn’t look
b. glance
c. scan
d read
e. study
7. Does R seem to notice any physical features of the letter?
bold print
other
8. Does R say anything about the text? If so, what?
“ACS is separate from Census”
“required by U.S. law”
“some households, including yours, will receive both”
“must do both”
other
9. Does R seem to compare this ACS cover letter or mailing package with any
other census or ACS letter or package?
10. List any facial expressions or body language related to this task.
PART TWO: NEUTRAL PROBING
I. Census Pre-notice Envelope
SET-UP: Now I’m going to ask you a few questions about the envelopes that came with the letters you just talked about. I’d like you to look at this envelope and think about what your reaction to it was. [Give participant envelope.]
PROBE:
1. This is the envelope for the first letter you received. When I first gave you this envelope, did you look at the outside of it before you opened it?
2. At that time, did you notice anything in particular? If so, what?
II. ACS Pre-notice Envelope
SET-UP: Now I’d like you to look at this envelope. [Give participant envelope.]
PROBE:
1. This is the envelope for the third letter you received. When I first gave you this envelope, did you look at the outside of it before you opened it?
2. At that time, did you notice anything in particular? If so, what?
3. When you first saw this envelope, did you think about who or where it was coming from? If so, what did you think?
4. What did you expect to find in this envelope?
5. Would you open this envelope?
6. Would you keep this envelope or throw it away? Why?
III. ACS/Census Pre-notice Envelope Comparison
SET-UP: Now I’d like you to think about both of these envelopes as I ask you a couple of questions.
PROBE:
1. Do the envelopes seem similar or different? How so?
2. If you see a difference, do you think it means anything? What?
IV. Census Initial Packet Envelope
SET-UP: Again, I’m going to ask you a few questions about the envelopes that came with the letters you just talked about. Please look at this envelope [Give participant envelope].
PROBE:
1. This is the envelope for the second letter you received. When I first gave this to you, did you look at the outside of this envelope before you opened it?
2. At that time, did you notice anything in particular? If so, what?
V. ACS Initial Packet Envelope
SET-UP: Now please look at this envelope again. [Give participant envelope.]
PROBE:
1. This is the envelope for the fourth letter you received. When I first gave you this envelope, did you look at the outside before you opened it?
2. At that time, did you notice anything in particular? If so, what?
3. When you first saw this envelope, did you think about who or where it was coming from? If so, what did you think?
4. What did you expect to find in this envelope?
5. Would you keep this envelope or throw it away? Why?
VI. Comparison
SET-UP: Now please think about both envelopes.
PROBE:
1. Do the envelopes seem similar or different? How so?
2. If you see a difference, do you think it means anything? What?
3. If these envelopes came to your house in your regular mail, would you be
likely to open one or the other, both, or neither?
A. If one, “Which one would you open? Why?
B. If neither, Why?
PART 3: SECOND ROUND OF OBSERVATION
I. Census Replacement Questionnaire Packet
SET-UP: Around April 6th, [show date on calendar] you might receive this packet in the mail. Please treat it as you would if you were getting it at your house, and remember to think out loud as you do. [Hand participant packet.]
Note: If R asks whether or not he/she should fill out questionnaire, direct R to simply look through it carefully.
OBSERVE:
1. To what extent does R look at envelope?
didn’t look
glance
scan
read
study
2. Does R seem to notice any physical features of the envelope?
logo
mandatory
thickness
other
3. Does R say anything about the envelope? If so, what?
4. To what extent does R seem to look at/read the cover letter text?
How much of it?
a. didn’t look at it
b. glance
c. scan
d. read
e. study
5. Does R seem to notice any physical features of the letter?
color
bold print
logo
other
6. Does R say anything about the text? If so, what?
7. Does R compare this letter to any other letter or postcard? Which ones? What is R’s reaction?
8. Does R realize that this is the same as the earlier census questionnaire
packet?
9. List any facial expressions or body language related to this task.
II. ACS Replacement Questionnaire Packet
SET-UP: On April 22nd, [show date on calendar] you might receive this packet in the mail. As before, please treat it as you would if you were getting it at your house, and remember to think out loud as you do. [Hand participant packet.]
Note: If R asks whether or not he/she should fill out questionnaire, direct R to simply look through it.
OBSERVE:
1. To what extent does R look at envelope?
didn’t look
glance
scan
read
study
2. Does R seem to notice any physical features of the envelope?
color
ACS name
U.S. Census Bureau in green box
Return address (DOC)
census logo at bottom
other
3. Does R say anything:
about the link of the ACS and Census? If so, what?
Anything else? What?
Does R seem to compare ACS envelope with Census envelope or other ACS envelope?
How does R take materials out of envelope? Does R read letter before going to the questionnaire?
6. To what extent does R look at/read the ACS cover letter text?
How much of it?
a. didn’t look
b. glance
c. scan
d. read
e. study
7. Does R seem to notice any physical features of the letter?
bold print
other
8. Does R say anything about the text? If so, what?
“ACS is separate from Census”
“required by U.S. law”
“some households, including yours, will receive both”
“must do both”
other
9. Does R compare this ACS cover letter to any other letters? Which?
10. Does R realize that this is the same as the earlier ACS questionnaire
packet?
11. List any facial expressions or body language related to this task.
PART 3: DIRECTED PROBE
SET-UP: Okay, now I’d like to ask you a few more questions about some of the mailings you’ve seen. It’s okay if you didn’t notice some of the things I might ask you about. As I said before, there are no right or wrong answers to these questions.
These envelopes have the words “U.S. Census Bureau” written over “the American Community Survey” in a green box. What, if anything, does that mean to you?
Part 4: LIKELIHOOD OF FORM COMPLETION
SET-UP: Now I just have a few questions for you about how likely you would be to complete these forms on your own if you really did get them in the mail.
PROBE:
1. If you received these same materials in your mail, how likely would you be to complete and return the 2010 census form on your own? Very likely, somewhat likely, somewhat unlikely, not likely.
Why?
2. How likely would you be to complete and return the American Community Survey on your own? Very likely, somewhat likely, somewhat unlikely, not likely?
Why?
3. How likely would you be to complete and return just one of the two? Very likely, somewhat likely, somewhat unlikely, not likely.
(If very or somewhat likely): Which one would you do, the 2010 Census or the American Community Survey form?
Why?
4 How likely would you be to do neither one of these? Very likely, somewhat likely, somewhat unlikely, not likely.
Why?
5. What kinds of things would you consider when deciding whether to do one, both, or neither of these questionnaires?
SET-UP: I’m going to show you two of the envelopes again and ask you a few more questions about them.
6. One of these envelopes has black print on white paper, while the other one has black print on white paper with a green background in two boxes.
6a: Do you think one of these two envelopes would be more noticeable in a stack of incoming mail, or is there no difference between the envelopes in noticeability?
If difference: Which envelope do you think would be more noticeable?
Census
ACS
No difference
6b. Would you be more likely to open one of these envelopes than the other, or
would there be no difference?
If difference: Which envelope would you be more likely to open?
Census
ACS
No difference
6c. Would you be more likely to fill out a questionnaire that came in one or the other of these envelopes, or would there be no difference in your likelihood to complete the questionnaire inside?
If difference: Which envelope would make you more likely to fill out the enclosed questionnaire?
Census
ACS
No difference
6d. Do you think that one of these envelopes looks more official than the other or is there no difference in how official they look?
Census
ACS
No difference
6e. Do you think it is more effective to have just black and white on this government survey envelope or better to include a third color, or does it make no difference?
Just black and white
Have a third color too
No difference
6f. How do you feel about the green background on this (ACS) envelope:
like it
do not like it
it doesn’t make a difference
6g. Is there another color that would be more effective than the green?
Yes, What color?”
No
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | ACS Messaging Testing |
| Author | Bureau Of The Census |
| Last Modified By | Bureau Of The Census |
| File Modified | 2009-02-10 |
| File Created | 2009-02-10 |