Memo

The Census Bureau plans to conduct additional research under the generic clearance for questionnaire pretesting research (OMB number 0607-0725).

This submission seeks approval of an add-on component for future pretesting research. This add-on will gather data on the usability of different Census User Identification Codes (User IDs). These codes are printed on our mailing materials and used by respondent to access the online census instruments. The length and make-up of the current User ID for our census tests is a 14-digit number. Shortening the User ID has been proposed.

With internal Census Bureau staff, we have conducted testing of three types of User IDs thus far.

• 6-character alphanumeric plus a 2-digit check-digit ID, where the alphas were case sensitive;

• 7-character alphanumeric plus a 2-digit check-digit ID, where the alphas were NOT case sensitive and the alphas were displayed in lower case;

• 12-digit plus a 2-digit check-digit ID.

To further the research, we plan to continue this testing with four more types of User IDs:

• 7-character alphanumeric plus a 2-digit check-digit ID, where the alphas are not case sensitive and the alphas are displayed in upper case;

• 7-character alphanumeric plus a 2-digit check-digit ID, where the alphas are case sensitive;

• 7-digit plus a 2-digit check-digit ID;

• 10-digit plus a 2-digit check-digit ID.

We will measure the participant’s accuracy in entering the User ID, the time it takes them to enter the User ID, and their satisfaction with the experience of entering the User ID. We will test the different User IDs on a laptop and on an Android smartphone. There are eight total conditions.

This is a between-subject design. Each pretesting participant will only be asked to enter one user identification code on one device. For each condition, there will be 20 subjects, thus we will need 160 participants all together to complete the study.

Below is a list of materials to be used in the study.

1. Protocol used for the study (Enclosure 1)

2. Screenshot of applications and mailing material (Enclosure 2)

3. Satisfaction question (Enclosure 3)

It will take the participant no more than 2 minutes to perform this task. The maximum burden for this add-on study is 5.3 hours. There is no recruiting needed for this study because we will use the participants recruited for other approved studies.

The contact person for questions regarding data collection and statistical aspects of the design of this research are listed below:

Elizabeth Nichols

Center for Survey Measurement

U.S. Census Bureau

Washington, D.C. 20233

(301) 763-1724

[email protected]