Justification for Change

JUSTIFICATION FOR CHANGE
REGIONAL ECONOMIC DATA COLLECTION PROGRAM FOR
SOUTHEAST ALASKA
OMB CONTROL NO. 0648-0614

We are requesting a change in the options that can be chosen by survey respondents in
the “key respondent” group when they respond to our interview questions. In the
approved ICR’s supporting statement, we stated we would conduct interviews of
respondents. Our original plan was to provide respondents with a worksheet in
preparation for an upcoming telephone or in-person interview.
We have since reconsidered how to most efficiently gather data from the respondents.
Experience tells us that in some cases respondents will provide more detailed or followup information after the interview. We concluded that it would be more efficient to give
respondents, after the interview is completed, the options of amplifying the information
they provided in the interview by (1) returning a completed or partially completed
worksheet to us by mail, or (2) accessing an internet link to fill out a portion of a
worksheet stored on a secure internet website. They may also choose not to add any
information.
We believe that these options will help to make it more convenient for some respondents
to provide the information, thereby increasing the response rate. These response options
are not expected to increase respondents’ burden hours, as worksheet completion (preinterview) was already included in the estimated interview time.