Supporting Statement for Paperwork Reduction Act Submission
3090-0284 – Data.gov Feedback Mechanisms
B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods
The intent of Data.gov feedback mechanisms is to leverage voluntary feedback to deliver high quality information to the public. The information will not be used to generalize to the respondent population.
1. Universe and Respondent Selection
The rating activities under this clearance will be made available to all end users who access the Data.gov site; that is, the 5-star rating system and Comment on this Data text box. The end users are not required to complete the ratings when accessing the Data.gov web site; the activity is optional.
The ratings approach for Data.gov does not utilize statistical sampling. Rather, users will be a self-selected subset of the number of overall visitors to the site; end users with both positive and negative experiences may have an interest in responding. It seems plausible that the lowest response rate would be among ambivalent users. We estimate as many as 5,000 ratings and 400 comments per year. The number of responses anticipated is based on responses to the USA.gov website and ratings provided during the first 3 months of Data.gov operations.
The opportunity to nominate additional datasets is another data entry page, Suggest Other Datasets, which is made available to all end users who access the Data.gov site. The end users are not required to complete the Suggest Other Datasets data entry page; however, they are allowed to do so when accessing the Data.gov web site. The visitors who complete this page are likely to be even less representative of the total users – they will represent a subset of users with particular interests. We estimate 4,000 suggestions per year; this will be a subset of the number of overall visitors to the site. The number of responses anticipated is based on responses to the USA.gov website and the suggestions received the first 3 months of Data.gov operations.
The Contact Us data entry page is made available to all end users who access the Data.gov site. The end users are not required to complete the optional email address field, however, they are allowed to do so when accessing the Data.gov web site. The contact and suggestion responses will not be stored. The Contact Us page for Data.gov will not utilize statistical sampling. 1,800 ratings per year are expected and this will be a subset of the number of overall visitors to the site based on end user interest to respond. The number of responses anticipated is based on responses to the USA.gov website and contacts made during the first 3 months of Data.gov operations.
The social media venue is implemented through a url to a social media website, where users will not be required to participate.
Additional voluntary feedback mechanisms will be defined in future IC submissions under this generic ICR as stakeholder interest and visitor feedback dictate with an expected overall number of responses to reach 16,200 per year.
2. Procedures for Collecting Information
End users will access the Data.gov website and will be presented with options to browse Data.gov. Within Data.gov are web pages specific to each dataset presented on Data.gov. The end user will be allowed to submit ratings of one star through five stars across four criteria for each dataset detail page they view on Data.gov. The Data.gov application will average the ratings received immediately when new ratings are submitted by visitors. The average rating will be displayed using shaded stars. The average will be rounded up or down to the nearest whole value. For instance, if the ratings average 4.00, then 4 stars will be shaded; if the ratings average 4.50, then 5 stars will be shaded; if the ratings average 4.25, 4 stars will be shaded.
End users of Data.gov will also be provided with a link to “Suggest Other Datasets.” This web page will include a series of fields to complete for the end user to submit their suggestions of new datasets if they so desire.
End users of Data.gov will also be provided with a link to “Contact Us.” This web page will include a comment box and an optional email address field for the end user to submit their email address if they so desire.
The social media venue is implemented through a url to a separate social media website, where users will not be required to participate.
Like procedures will be followed for additional feedback mechanisms as stakeholder interest and visitor feedback dictate. Those procedures will be defined in future IC submissions under this generic ICR.
3. Methods to Maximize Response
Responses are not required and the Data.gov website will not characterize the results as statistically representative of users or the opinions of the general public. Rather, because the intent of Data.gov is to benefit the public, links will be prominently displayed and made easy to understand and use, thereby encouraging participation among those who are interested.
The results of the ratings will be prominently displayed on the Data.gov catalog page and this prominent placement will help maximize responses. The simplicity of the Comment on this Data box and brevity of the 5-star rating approach and simplicity of the rating categories themselves will also aid in maximizing responses.
The Suggest Other Datasets entry page will be linked from the home page of Data.gov and this prominent placement will help maximize responses. The brevity of the data entry page and simplicity of the questions will also aid in maximizing responses.
The Contact Us page will be prominently displayed and this prominent placement will help maximize responses. The brevity of the optional email address field and simplicity of the field will also aid in maximizing responses.
The url to a social media website will be highlighted “Join the Conversation” to encourage feedback.
Likewise, similar methods to maximize response will be followed for additional feedback mechanisms as stakeholder interest and visitor feedback dictate. Those procedures will be defined in future IC submissions under this generic ICR.
4. Testing of Procedures
The responses to the ratings, Comment on this Data text box, Suggest Other Datasets data entry page, and Contact Us data entry page, as well as future feedback mechanisms, are solely feedback forms and will not be formally tested against statistical practices. It is the intention of the Data.gov team to leverage the responses to provide feedback to the public as to how the public collectively views the datasets. The intent is to leverage this voluntary feedback to deliver high quality information to the public. The information will not be used for statistical purposes or sampling purposes.
5. Contacts for Statistical Aspects and Data Collection
There are no applicable statistical contacts. The Project Manager for Data.gov is Marion Royal and he can be contacted at [email protected] or at 202.208.4643.
| File Type | application/msword |
| Author | JackeAZeiher |
| Last Modified By | JackeAZeiher |
| File Modified | 2009-12-03 |
| File Created | 2009-12-03 |