The Census Bureau plans to conduct additional research under the generic clearance for questionnaire pretesting research (OMB number 0607-0725). As part of the Census.gov Web Transformation Project, we will be conducting in-person usability interviews to determine whether proposed design and navigation changes to the U.S. Census Bureau website resonates with users. These changes are intended to make the Census.gov website easier to navigate by organizing Census Bureau content under specific topical domains and standardizing page formatting.
In June 2012, we plan to conduct no more than 45 interviews in the DC metropolitan area and four other cities. A Contractor (Accenture) will conduct no more than 40 usability interviews in the cities of Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Los Angeles, CA; and Southfield, MI with potential Census.gov users. The Contractor will work with a Recruiting Agency (FieldWork Inc.) and internal Census resources to identify researchers, journalists, and members of the general population to serve as participants. The non-local interviews will be conducted in one of the Contractor’s offices. The Census Bureau Usability Lab staff will separately conduct usability interviews with five Census employees in the DC metropolitan area. The Census Bureau employees will be recruited via email, and interviewed in the Bureau’s Usability Lab.
The 90 minute interview process will be simple and straightforward. The Test Participant will enter the test room. She will complete an initial questionnaire designed to gauge her familiarity with the Internet and the Census Bureau. She will also sign a consent form that will provide important information regarding disclosure and recording of information from the test. The Facilitator will make introductions, and then go over the purpose, agenda, and ground rules of the session. We plan to record the session with Morae Usability Software to capture video, audio, on-screen activity, and keyboard/mouse input and the Observer will take real-time notes on user comments about the prototype. Next, the Participant will complete the 3-4 test scenarios with the interactive prototype, based on the allotted time. Participants are not expected to all scenarios in the allotted time; however, any participant that completes the 3-4 scenario and sufficient time remains, will be asked to complete additional scenarios until time runs out. Scenarios will be administered in random order to assure that all scenarios get completely fairly equally. Participants will not, at any time, be under any pressure to complete additional scenarios. After the Participant has completed the test scenarios, the Facilitator will thank the Participant for participating; ask follow-up interview questions to clarify any observations, and complete an exit questionnaire, providing feedback on her experience using the website prototype. There will then be time for any participant questions still outstanding and then the usability test will be complete.
Respondents will be informed that their participation is voluntary and the information they provide is confidential and will be seen only by Contractor and Census Bureau staff involved in the usability study. All results reported will be at a summary level and will not disclose any personal information.
Census Bureau employees will receive no compensation. We are requesting a $75 honorarium for non-Census participants based on feedback from the Recruiting Agency that in order to: 1) recruit in all of the desired cities; and 2) recruit the required test participants, specifically highly educated statisticians and PhDs, it is necessary to offer compensation of at least this amount. Moreover, this higher level of compensation will reduce the number of “no-shows” we will incur across all cities and education strata, driving up the overall cost of our recruiting efforts.
The Census.gov wireframes, the pre-session questionnaire, the consent form used by the Contractor, the test scenarios, the post-session questionnaire, and the protocol are included as attachments.
The estimated time for completion of each interview is 1.5 hours. Our estimate for the maximum burden time for this research is 68 hours.
The contact person for questions regarding data collection and statistical aspects of the design of this research is listed below:
Alexandra Figueroa
Center for New Media and Promotions
8H490F
U.S. Census Bureau
Washington, DC 20233
301-763-3491
| File Type | application/msword |
| Author | murph031 |
| Last Modified By | demai001 |
| File Modified | 2012-05-30 |
| File Created | 2012-05-30 |