B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods
1. Universe and Respondent Selection
The rating activities under this clearance will be made available to all end users who access the USASpending.gov site, including IT Dashboard; that is, the traffic light rating system. The end users are not required to complete the ratings when accessing the USASpending.gov web site; the activity is optional.
The ratings approach for USASpending.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 10,000 ratings per year. The number of responses anticipated is based on responses to the USA.gov website.
The Contact Us e-mail page is made available to all end users who access the USASpending.gov site. The contact and suggestion responses will not be stored. The Contact Us page for USASpending.gov will not utilize statistical sampling. 5,000 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.
2. Procedures for Collecting Information
End users will access the USASpending.gov website and will be presented with options to browse USASpending.gov. Within USASpending.gov are web pages specific to each data presented on USASpending.gov; that is, contracts, loans, grants, and IT investments. The end user will be allowed to submit ratings of red/yellow/green for each data detail page they view on USASpending.gov. The USASpending.gov application will average the ratings received immediately when new ratings are submitted by visitors. The average rating will be displayed using a traffic light display of red, yellow, and green colors. Red will represent 1 point, yellow will represent 3 points, and green will represent 5 points. The average will be rounded up or down to the nearest whole value. For instance, if the ratings average 4.00, 4.25, or 4.50 then green will be displayed. If the ratings average 3.00, 3.25, or 3.50, yellow will be displayed.
End users of USASpending.gov will also be provided with a link to “Contact Us.” This e-mail page will include a comment box to report bugs or to provide feedback. This information will not be used for statistical purposes.
3. Methods to Maximize Response
Responses are not required and the USASpending.gov website will not characterize the results as statistically representative of users or the opinions of the general public. Rather, because the intent of USASpending.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 USASpending.gov and this prominent placement will help maximize responses. The simplicity and brevity of the traffic light rating approach and simplicity of the rating categories themselves 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.
4. Testing of Procedures
The responses to the ratings and Contact Us data entry page are solely feedback forms and will not be formally tested against statistical practices. It is the intention of the USASpending.gov team to leverage the responses to provide feedback to the public as to how the public collectively views the information provided. 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 USASpending.gov is Lalit Bajaj and he can be contacted at [email protected] or at 202.208.7887.
| File Type | application/msword |
| Author | JackeAZeiher |
| Last Modified By | JackeAZeiher |
| File Modified | 2009-06-29 |
| File Created | 2009-06-29 |