Summary of Proposed Changes to the Content of the SET Follow-Up Survey Questionnaire

Summary of Proposed Changes to the Content of the SET Follow-Up Survey Questionnaire

Topics of Follow-Up Survey by Content Area	Included in Original Version?	Included in Proposed Revised Version?
Screening
Date of birth		
Last four digits of Social Security number		
Current Employment Status
Self-employment status		
Wage and salary (W/S) employment status		
Primary work activity (if both self-employed and employed in W/S job)		
Reason for not working (if not employed)		
Receipt of Self-Employment Assistance Services
For specific types of services:
Whether received any at all		Streamlineda
Quantity received		Streamlinedb
Organizations providing services	
Out-of-pocket expenses		Simplifiedc
Satisfaction level	
Unmet needs	
For all types of services:
Organizations providing services		d
Reason for not participating in any services (if applicable)		
Business development topics addressed		Simplifiede
Overall satisfaction		f
Business Development Activities
Started/updated and completed a business plan		Simplifiedg
Started/updated a marketing plan	
Applied for/received a business loan		Simplifiedh
Applied for/received a start-up grant		
Sources of grants including seed capital		New
Received assistance in achieving milestone	
Self-Employment Experiences
Ever tried to start a business		
Ever self-employed		
Number of business ventures started		
Self-employment earnings over previous 12 months		Rewordedi
For current/most business venture:
Industry		
Whether business is registered and/or incorporated		Simplifiedj
Start and end dates	
Reason(s) for ceasing operations and subsequent activities (if applicable)	
Adoption of select business development strategies/tools	
Typical hours/weeks worked		k
Monthly sales and expenses	
Whether received monetary compensation from the specific business	
Amount, nature, and frequency of compensation received	
Number of employees		
Ownership structure	
Sources and amounts of financial capital invested in the business	
Challenges faced in attempting to become self-employed		l
Experiences in Wage and Salary Employment
Ever had a job		
Number of jobs currently held	
Earnings over previous 12 months		
For current/most job:
Industry and occupation	
Start and end dates	
Reason(s) for leaving job (if applicable)	
Subsequent labor-market activity (if applicable)	
Typical hours worked		m
Rate of pay	
Job Satisfaction, Fringe Benefits, Health Insurance, and Program Participation
Level of satisfaction with current employment situation		
Current availability of employment-related fringe benefits	
Health insurance:
Current availability and source	
Gaps in coverage since random assignment	
Unemployment insurance benefits:
Number of weeks collected since random assignment		Simplifiedn
Weekly benefit amount	
Current receipt and reason no longer collecting (if applicable)	
Access and use of work search waivers		Newo
Receipt of traditional workforce services and training for job seekers like those offered through the Workforce Investment Act, Wagner-Peyser, and Trade Adjustment Assistance programs		Simplifiedp
Household Composition, Marital Status, Income, and Economic Hardships
Household composition and marital status	
Household income over last 12 months:
Total income and number of earners	
Receipt of transfer income through government programs (e.g., welfare and food stamps)	
Economic hardships (e.g. missing credit/utility payments, default, bankruptcy, putting off medical care)	
Contact Information		Simplifiedq

^aOut of the original service questions (access to a self-employment advisor, in-person classes, online classes, individualized business development support, in-person peer groups, online peer groups, mentoring, and “other, specify”) two were dropped: (1) a question about online peer groups was dropped because this is not a tangible support targeted by the intervention, and its intensity is not expected to be reliably measured; and (2) a question about mentors was dropped because web-only administration is not expected to cleanly differentiate between mentors and self-employment advisors or providers of individualized business development support. The remaining questions were grouped together into a grid to allow respondents to more easily complete them.

^bThe original questionnaire asked separately about the quantity received of each self-employment service (e.g., number of sessions and time per session). The revised questionnaire asks only for the quantity of what are expected to be the two most important types of services: (1) in-person classes and (2) meetings with a self-employment advisor and/or individualized business development support sessions.

^cThe revised questionnaire includes a set of check boxes for the respondent to indicate if s/he paid to access each type of self-employment service received. The original questionnaire included questions about specific dollar amounts paid.

^dThe revised questionnaire will pre-fill local organizations that might have provided services based on the respondent’s location, as well as provide an opportunity to write in any additional organizations. The original questionnaire only included a write-in option.

^eThe revised questionnaire includes a shorter list of business development topics, covering only what are expected to be the most important topics covered by self-employment training.

^fThe original questionnaire included (1) a question about overall satisfaction with services received and (2) a satisfaction question pertaining to self-employment advisors. The revised questionnaire only includes the former.

^gThe revised questionnaire only asks whether respondents had completed a business plan. The original questionnaire also included broader questions about starting and updating a business plan.

^hThe revised questionnaire excludes an item asking respondents if they had applied for loans; it retains the item asking respondents if they actually received any money from a loan.

ⁱThe revised questionnaire rewords the question on self-employment income to focus respondents on total personal income from self-employment.

^jThe revised questionnaire combines three options for registering with the state, county, and city/town into a single option that covers all three levels of government.

^kThe updated question asks for hours/weeks worked across all self-employment ventures over the past 12 months, instead of covering one venture only. This revision aligns this measure of work intensity with the period covered by the main self-employment earnings question.

^lThe instrument’s question on self-employment challenges was changed from “mark all that apply” to “mark top three.” Two response options related to finding a location to operate the business and one about personal finances were added; a few response options expected to be less common were removed.

^mThe updated question asks for hours/weeks worked across all wage and salary jobs over the past 12 months, instead of covering the period since random assignment. The revision aligns this measure of work intensity with the similar measure constructed for self-employment, as well as the time periods covered by the main earnings questions.

ⁿThe main question about receipt of unemployment benefits was simplified to assess whether the respondent received any unemployment benefits during the last 12 months, rather than asking for the number of weeks of benefits received since random assignment.

^oTwo follow-up questions were added to learn about receipt of work search waivers, which will not be readily available from administrative data sources.

^pThe “other, specify” category was removed from the series of yes/no questions covering traditional workforce services to reduce burden and focus respondents on what are expected to be the most important services.

^qA few questions were removed from the contact information series to reduce respondent burden, including details about social network accounts and questions about unlimited minutes on cell phones. In addition, respondents will only be asked to provide addresses and phone numbers information for two, rather than three, close friends/relatives as alternative avenues of contact.