NASS Review Comments

NASS Review of OMB Documents on Forest Service Wildfire Survey

I. Study Purpose/Justification

The purpose of this study is clearly stated and a strong argument is made for the usefulness of the results.

II. Sample Selection

Question #1 in section B is asking for detailed information on the respondent universe. This is not currently provided in the document. It should be stated that the universe for this survey is all households that reside within the wildland-urban interface of Colorado. If possible, state the number of households that are known to exist (possibly get this from the population census). Then it can be stated that we are sampling 4,500 households and using this sample to be representative of XX total households that exist in this region.

It is noted that the sample will be stratified by county. Does the number of total households in each county vary significantly? If so, are there plans to increase the sample size in the counties with a larger proportion of households? Or will the sample sizes across counties (strata) be consistent and allow larger sampling weights to provide accurate coverage for the larger counties? That issue should be discussed.

III. Data Collection Instrument

The data collection instrument is sufficient to collect the necessary information that this study is hoping to gather. The questions seem clear and are easy to follow and understand.

IV. Data Collection Procedures

The data collection strategy is very well defined. A clear plan has been established and the timeline for nonresponse follow up seems reasonable.

V. Statistical Methods for Summary

There is no documentation on how the data will be summarized, although I do not see an area where OMB is asking for it. I have seen it in previous supporting statements. You may want to verify that OMB does not need that information. I have seen in the past researchers describing the type of summary results they plan to generate from the data, such as straight averages or weighted totals.

VII. Overall Project Design

The supporting statement for this project is very thorough and well written. I would just add a little bit about the sample design and the stratum that you plan to use and how sampling weights will be calculated. Also verify that OMB does not need any documentation on generating survey results. I’m not sure if this is what they were looking for with the question on “Estimation Procedure” or not.