Various Demographic Area Pretesting Activities

Census Household Form – Paper Protocol

Draft – 15 December 2011

APPROACH:

• have participant complete the entire form, reminding them to think aloud periodically. PARTICIPANTS CAN READ QUESTIONS ALOUD OR SILENTLY.

• note ANY PROBLEMS OR CONFUSION participant has when ANSWERING THESE items, PROBING FOR CLARIFICATION AS NECESSARY.

• do not ask any scripted probes until the end.

• PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO WhETHER SURVEY QUESTIONS “WORK” FOR MOVERS, SEASONAL, AND CUSTODY CASES.

• NOTE WHETHER PARTICIPANT COUNTS THE SAME PERSON IN MULTIPLE QUESTIONS

ONLINE FORM:

• note whether participant comments about online form

• If R decides at this point that they would fill out the form on-line, probe:

  • Why do you think you should respond online?

  • Thanks. I understand the reasons that you think you should respond online. But just for today, let’s assume that you can’t go on-line and you’ve decided to fill out the paper form instead.

INSTRUCTION SEGMENT:

• focus on the way the r uses instructions:

  • note evidence of reading instructions:

  • note where the R starts:

  • does r appear to read both set of bullets?

  • does R fill out q1 prior to reading instructions

• does r make any changes to the person counts in q1 or q2?

PERSON PAGES:

• does R appear to read the instructions about who to make person 1?

• Are questions 5-9 filled out in order?

• does R appear to read the explanation prior to q10?

• does r provide ‘no’ answers to questions 10, 11, and 12 if approprate?

• does R appear to read the instructions in q13?

• does r put address in the inteNded boxes?

• is there evidence that the r changed information, e.g., going back and filling things in later?

• what fields are used?

• Do they provide a complete address?

RETROSPECTIVE PROBING:

• First, if they had any noticeable problems or confusion that they mentioned while answering these questions, go over these first.

• Probe briefly about their problems with the demographic questions, but only if they have expressed concern or difficulty. This is only to note their concerns

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

Who should use this paper form?

• Anyone who, on January 15, 2012, was living or staying at the address printed on this form.

• Anyone who lives and sleeps most of the time at the address printed on this form.

• Anyone whose entire household moved into this address on or before January 15, 2012.

Who should respond online?

• Anyone whose entire household moved into this address printed on this form after January 15, 2012.

• Anyone who needs to report that the address printed on this form was vacant on January 15, 2012.

• Anyone who needs to report that the address printed on this form is a seasonal home.

• Anyone who has more than two places to live.

1. What was the first thing you saw on this page? Where did you start to read? How much of these instructions did you read?

2. What is the first set of instructions telling you? Who is supposed to fill out this form?

3. In the first bullet, what does “living or staying” mean in this context?

4. In the second bullet, what does “lives and sleeps most of the time” mean? IF NECESSARY: What does “most of the time” mean here?

5. What is the second set of instructions telling you? Who should not fill out this form?

6. In the second bullet, what does “vacant” mean as it’s used here?

7. What does “seasonal home” mean?

CENSUS QUESTIONS

1. T

   
   
   

   he Census must count every person living in the United States on January 15, 2012, where they live and sleep most of the time. How many people were living or staying at this address on January 15, 2012?

= Number of people for Question #1

8. In your own words, what is Question 1 asking you?

9. You answered (NUMBER). Who were the people you were counting? How did you decide who to include in this question?

10. Was there anyone that you were unsure whether you should include or not? IF YES: Can you tell me more about that?

11. Question 1 uses two phrases: “live and sleep” and “living or staying”. Do they sound like they mean the same thing here or do they mean something different? Please tell me how they are the same or different.

12. IF R LEFT Q1 BLANK: Why didn’t you write anything in here?

13. IF NECESSARY: I noticed that you changed your answer to Question 1. Can you tell me what you were thinking when you did that?

2. Certain types of people are sometimes left off census forms. Were there any additional people staying here January 15, 2012 that you did not include in Question #1, for example:

Yes  No  Babies?

Yes  No  Foster children?

Yes  No  Any other relatives?

Yes  No  Roommates or people not related to you?

Yes  No  People staying here temporarily?

Y

es  No  Anyone staying here who had no permanent place to live?

= Number of ADDITIONAL people for Question #2

14. In your own words, what is Question 2 asking you?

15.IF NECESSARY: What does “Certain types of people are sometimes left off census forms” mean to you?

IF YES FOR ANY:

16 . How did you come up with your answer to this question? Who were you thinking of? PROBE ON RELATIONSHIP TO PARTICIPANT. determine if these are the same people R thought of in answering Q1 or additional people.

17. IF ADDITIONAL: Initially you did not include this person. Can you tell me more about that?

If a number is entered but no box is marked:

18 Who were you thinking of when you wrote in the number for Question 2?

19 Why didn’t you mark any boxes in Question 2?

18. What does “Anyone staying here who had no permanent place to stay” mean in this question?

20. How helpful or unhelpful was this list of individuals – babies, foster children, etc?

21. Can you think of any other types of people that someone might not think to list?

2. Is this house, apartment or mobile home—Mark X ONE box

• Owned by you or someone in this household with a mortgage or loan? Include home equity loans.

• Owned by you or someone in this household free and clear (without a mortgage or loan)?

• Rented?

• Occupied without payment of rent?

22. Why did you choose [ANSWER]?

23. Are these answer choices okay or did you want to provide a different answer? IF YES: What did you want to answer?

2. W

   
   
   

   hat is your telephone number? We may call if we don’t understand an answer.

PERSON 1

5. Please provide information for each person counted in Questions #1 and #2. Start with a person living here who owns or rents this house, apartment, or mobile home. If the owner or renter lives somewhere else, start with any adult living here. This will be person 1.

What is Person 1’s name? Print name below

First Name MI

Last Name

27. Did you read the instructions above Question 5? IF DID NOT READ, ASK THEM TO DO SO NOW.

28. In your own words, what was this instruction telling you to do?

29. IF MORE THAN ONE PERSON: This question asks you to start with the person who “owns or rents” this place. What did that mean in your situation?

30. IF MORE THAN ONE PERSON OWNS/RENTS: How did you determine which person to list first?

Questions 6-9

• Unless they have an objection: let them comment and go on.

Some people live or stay in more than one place and we would like to make sure everyone is only counted once.

31. Did you see the sentence above Q.10 when you went through it the first time? In your own words, what is the statement telling you? IF NEEDED: What does “only counted once” mean in this sentence?

10. Does Person 1 sometimes live or stay somewhere else?

• Yes—Mark X all that apply

• For College (on or off campus)

• In the military

• For a job or business

• With a parent or grandparent

• At another home, like a second or seasonal home

• Another place

• No

32. *FOR EACH YES RESPONSE: Can you tell me more about that. Why did you choose that answer?

33. Were there any places that you were unsure whether you should select or not? IF YES: Can you tell me more about that?

34. What does “With a parent or grandparent” mean? What kind of situations were you thinking of?

35. What does “at another home, like a second or seasonal home” mean in this question? What were you thinking of?

36. What kind of places might be included with “another place” here?

10. On January 15, 2012, did Person 1 stay in another type of place?

• Yes-Mark X all that apply

• In a jail or prison

• In a nursing home or group home

• Another place

• No

37. *FOR EACH YES: Can you tell me more about that. Why did you choose that answer?

38. Were there any places that you were unsure whether you should select or not? IF YES: Can you tell me more about that?

39. What kind of places might be included with “another place” here?

10. Did person 1 move during January?

• Yes—what date? ___________________

• No

40. * IF YES: Tell me about that move. Where did you/he/she move from? Move to? NOTE: these probes are especially important for R’s who wanted to opt for Internet after reading the original instructions.

10. If you marked yes to Question 10, 11, or 12 please provide the full address of the other place :

If there is more than one place, provide the other address where you were most of the time.

Street Address (House Number and Street Name) ___________________

Apartment Number ___________________

City___________________ State___________________ Zip Code___________________

County___________________

• NOTE: If you do not know the address, provide the neighborhood or community, cross streets or facility name:

41. * NOTE WHETHER R CORRECTLY ANSWERED THIS QUESTION BASED ON SKIP LOGIC.

42.* If Q 13 is blank after a yes answer: Can you tell me why you chose not to write an address in Question 13?

43. What does the phrase “the other place” mean in this context?

44. IF MORE THAN ONE ‘YES’ IN Q. 10 OR 11: How easy or difficult was it to determine which address to provide in Question 13? IF NECESSARY: How did you choose which address to provide?

14.Where does Person 1 live and sleep most of the time?

• The address printed on the back of this questionnaire

• The address or location listed in Question 13.

• Both places equally

• Some other place

45. *How did you determine where PERSON 1 lives and sleeps most of the time?

What time period were you thinking of when you answered this question?

15. On January 15, 2012, where was Person 1 staying?

• The address printed on the back of this questionnaire

• The address or location you listed in Question 13.

• Some other place

46. *How did you come up with your answer to Question 15?

47. Is Question 15 the same as Question 14 or is it different? If DIFFERENT: How is it different?

PERSONS 2+

• If the relationships are not clear from the demographics, clarify this.

• REPEAT ASTERISKED PROBES FOR EACH ADDITIONAL PERSON AS APPLICABLE

48. IF NECESSARY: The number of people you listed in the Person Pages is different from the number of people in Questions 1 and 2. Can you tell me how you decided who to list and who not to list on the inside pages?

49. Were all of the people you listed living with you on January 15^th?

*FOR EACH ADDITIONAL ADDRESS IN q. 13 ON ANY PERSON PAGE:

62. You said that [you/Name] spend(s) some time at [ADDRESS]. How often does that occur?

63. How many times or stays do you think there were during the entire year, last year (2011)?

One stay  How long did you stay there that time?

More than one stay  How long did [you/he/she] usually stay there each time?

64. Did [you/NAME] go there regularly, that is, is there some fixed pattern or was it occasional?

Occasional Tell me about how often you stayed there.

Don't Know  Tell me about how often you stayed there.

Patterned How would you describe your pattern?

65. Does the timing or number of stays sometimes change? IF YES, Please describe.

66. Was there another person in the household who went to the same place? [Note: Particularly important for custody and seasonal home cases]

Yes  Who was that? Did [you/they] always go together, that is, at the same time? If not, how was the pattern different for [others mentioned]? Why?

No

67. For the past year, where did you/he/she live and sleep most of the time?

68. Around January 15, 2012, where were you/he/she living and sleeping most of the time? (Same place or different place?)

69. What address do you consider to be the place where you should be counted in the Census? Why?

FINAL DEBRIEFING:

Thanks, we’re almost finished. I have a few more questions for you.

70. This Census questionnaire was primarily focused on who was living or staying at this address. What does “living or staying” mean to you?

71. Does “staying here” mean the same thing as “living here” to you or does it mean something different? Explain.

72. What does “living and sleeping here” mean to you? Does it mean the same thing or something different?

73. Was there anything in these questions that you found sensitive or uncomfortable to answer?

74. Was there any information for yourself or others that you would be hesitant to provide on the census form?

75. Aside from the things we’ve talked about, were there any questions or instructions that you find confusing or difficult to answer?

76. Did you find parts of the interview repetitive? If so, what parts?

78. If you were going to answer your census questionnaire on your own, without an interviewer, how would you prefer to do it:

On a smartphone?

On a tablet?

On a laptop or desktop?

On a paper form?

Why?

If smartphone or tablet, what kind?

79. If you don’t answer the census on your own, an interviewer might be sent to your home to get your census information. How would you feel about the interviewer using a smartphone to do the interview? A Tablet, like an iPad? How about a laptop computer? How about a paper form? Which do you prefer and why?

Household Paper Protocol 13