Request for Approval

Request for Approval under the “DOI Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery”

(OMB Control Number: 1090-0011)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Usability Testing of Online Migratory Bird Harvest Survey Trial Deployment

PURPOSE: The USFWS Migratory Bird Program is responsible for estimating the magnitude of migratory game bird harvest each year, by collecting survey data from hunters registered in the Harvest Information Program about their hunting activity and harvest. This information is used to calculate harvest estimates, to set hunting seasons and bag limits, determine the annual productivity of certain game species, and also serves to monitor population status for some species not well counted by other surveys. This survey has traditionally been a paper survey sent through the mail (OMB ICR 1018-0023) but we are transitioning to an online survey platform to reduce cost, improve data quality, and decrease respondent burden.

The statistical design of the diary survey is a stratified random sample, where hunters are selected at specific sampling rates to reach sufficient response rates needed for target levels of precision in harvest estimates. While the transition to an online survey will reduce the burden associated with mailing back a paper survey, there are substantial risks in implementing a new online method of data collection: unforeseen technical malfunctions of the application, network performance issues, user difficulties in navigating the application, etc. Any of these could have significant negative impacts on response rates, data integrity, and public perception of/participation in the survey. Therefore, we propose to test the new system by implementing a limited trial deployment alongside the paper survey in order to (1) estimate change in response rates associated with the new system; (2) test the design of the new interface for ease of use, and identify any user pain points; and (3) test the response to a new method of invitation and reminders for the survey (email). This information will be used to refine the survey for full deployment the following year, thereby minimizing the risk of failure or non-participation when the online survey becomes operational.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: Our respondents will be a sample of hunters who registered with the Harvest Information Program in their state in order to be able to hunt migratory birds.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form 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: Kathleen Fleming, Chief, Branch of Monitoring and Information Management

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

Personally Identifiable Information:

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

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

3. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? Yes No If “Yes”, please include the SORN title, number, and Federal Register citation for the publication:

Migratory Bird Population and Harvest Surveys – Interior, FWS-26, published in the Federal Register on March 24, 1981 (46 FR 18378).

Gifts or Payments:

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

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Total Hour Burden
Individuals/Households	4,114 (estimated based on paper survey response rates)	4 min each	274
TOTALS:	4,114		274

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $14,921. This amount was calculated assuming the cost of one biologist’s time to select the hunters (36 hours x $46.46/hr * 1.59 fringe) = $2,659, plus the cost of printed invitations to 2/3 of the sample = $3,981, plus the cost of 1-3 reminders to 2/3 of the sample less those who already responded = $8,281. The survey itself is online and does not require additional staff to conduct.

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? 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.

The sample of hunters is drawn from the existing Harvest Information Program sample frame, consisting of people who identified themselves as potential migratory game bird hunters when they purchased State hunting licenses. The States forward the sample frame data to the FWS either weekly or twice a month, starting in August and continuing through the end of their migratory bird hunting seasons. States asked each migratory bird hunter a series of short screening questions about the species they hunted and their hunting success the previous year.

We use this prior-year information as a predictor of their current year hunting activity and success to assign each hunter to a success/activity stratum for each of the 10 species or species-groups based on his or her answers to the screening questions. From each State list the FWS selects stratified samples for each species or species group, sampling the small group of active/very successful hunters at a high rate, the larger group of less successful hunters at a lower rate, and the very large group of hunters who rarely if ever hunt the species or species-group at a very low rate. For this trial survey, we will be sampling hunters at a rate 5% of our normal sampling rate randomly from each stratum.

Administration of the Instrument

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

Web-based or other forms of Social Media

NOTE: The submitted survey instrument is for the waterfowl survey. The other online survey instruments will be exactly the same except instead of waterfowl it will say "woodcock survey" or "dove survey" or "snipe, coot, rail, gallinule survey" or "sandhill crane survey."

Telephone

In-person

Mail

Other, Explain

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? Yes No

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

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