NLSY97 Customer Satisfaction Generic

Request for Approval under the “DOL Departmental Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback”

(OMB Control Number: 1225-0088)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997

PURPOSE:

The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) is sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and the data are collected under contract with the Center for Human Resource Researcher (CHRR) at the Ohio State University and the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago. The focus of the NLSY97 is to study how people make the transition from full-time schooling to the establishment of their families and careers. The longitudinal focus of this survey requires information to be collected about the same individuals over many years in order to trace their education, training, work experience, fertility, income, and program participation.

The NLSY97 began as an annual in-person survey and continued in that vein through its 15^th round of data collection, which was conducted from fall 2011 to spring 2012. In 2013 (Round 16), the NLSY97 transitioned to a biennial in-person data collection schedule. We will make a second transition in 2017 (Round 18) as data collection moves to primarily telephone data collection for the first time. (Round 18 is projected at 70 percent telephone completion compared to 26 percent in Round 17 and 15 percent in Round 16.)

In addition, an innovation for Round 18 is the use of the Early Bird incentive strategy that has been in place for many rounds in the NLSY79. This strategy allows respondents to initiate the data collection process by making the first contact, in return for increased incentive. Having persuasive written communications becomes more important with such a strategy than with in-person fielding. So that we can be effective in our communications for Round 18 and thus in motivating NLSY97 respondents to contact us, we propose to supplement routine update of locating information with questions about preferences for mode of contact, habits of information gathering, and topics of interest as they relate to respondents’ interest in the NLSY97. We hope to use this information to better design and target our early field communications for Round 18 data collection to inform NLSY97 sample members of the Early Bird opportunity and encourage them to contact us to complete their interviews.

We will seek to collect information on contact preferences from a randomly selected one half of our sample. Almost 1,900 would receive a communication with a request to provide preferred contact information via web update. Another 2,500 would receive a request by post to provide preferred contact information via web update. Individuals selected for preferred contact information will receive a prompt two weeks after the initial request; the prompt will go in the opposite mode (initial electronic communication is prompted by post, and vice versa). Individuals with no electronic contact information on file will receive the postal mailing twice.

We anticipate achieving the following through this effort:

• Understanding mode preferences and uses of technology as they might inform our efforts to contact our sample members.

• Measuring the relative yield of email vs postal mail in eliciting locator update information. The burden on respondents for this task is similar to that of initiating an Early Bird interview appointment using NORC’s web-based appointment scheduler.

• Learning about respondents’ interests in topics and news sources that might pertain to the NLSY97, as well as their interest in applications of NLSY97 data in different settings to inform development of project communications.

• Increasing respondents’ understanding of the NLSY97 and its value and relevance.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

The NLSY97 sample consists of 8,984 individuals born between 1980 and 1984. At the time of first interview, respondents' ages ranged from 12 to 18. The respondents will be 32 to 37 at the time of this interim contact.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [x ] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software [ ] Small Discussion Group

[] Focus Group [ ] Other: ______________________

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Name:________________________________________________

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ ] Yes [x ] No

2. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ x ] No

3. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? [ ] Yes [ x ] No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ ] Yes [x ] No

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent: Individuals	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden
Preferred contact information	3080	7.5 minutes	385 hours
Totals	3080	7.5 minutes	385 hours

*Assumes response rate of approximately 70 percent (4400x.70=3080)

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $10,700 for printing, mailing, programming the survey, selecting and implementing the sample for the experimental design.

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe? [x] Yes [ ] No

If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them?

One half of our sample will be randomly selected.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[x] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ ] Yes [x ] No

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

Instructions for completing Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback”

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Provide the name of the collection that is the subject of the request. (e.g. Comment card for soliciting feedback on xxxx)

PURPOSE: Provide a brief description of the purpose of this collection and how it will be used. If this is part of a larger study or effort, please include this in your explanation.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: Provide a brief description of the targeted group or groups for this collection of information. These groups must have experience with the program.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: Check one box. If you are requesting approval of other instruments under the generic, you must complete a form for each instrument.

CERTIFICATION: Please read the certification carefully. If you incorrectly certify, the collection will be returned as improperly submitted or it will be disapproved.

Personally Identifiable Information: Provide answers to the questions.

Gifts or Payments: If you answer yes to the question, please describe the incentive and provide a justification for the amount.

BURDEN HOURS:

Category of Respondents: Identify who you expect the respondents to be in terms of the following categories: (1) Individuals or Households;(2) Private Sector; (3) State, local, or tribal governments; or (4) Federal Government. Only one type of respondent can be selected.

No. of Respondents: Provide an estimate of the Number of respondents.

Participation Time: Provide an estimate of the amount of time required for a respondent to participate (e.g. fill out a survey or participate in a focus group)

Burden: Provide the Annual burden hours: Multiply the Number of responses and the participation time and divide by 60.

FEDERAL COST: Provide an estimate of the annual cost to the Federal government.

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents. Please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them. If the answer is yes, to the first question, you may provide the sampling plan in an attachment.

Administration of the Instrument: Identify how the information will be collected. More than one box may be checked. Indicate whether there will be interviewers (e.g. for surveys) or facilitators (e.g., for focus groups) used.

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

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