OMB Memo for FIST nonsubstantive Change

U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Washington, D.C. 20531
MEMORANDUM
TO:

Shelly Martinez
Desk Officer
Office of Management and Budget

THROUGH:

Lynn Murray
Clearance Officer
Justice Management Division
Jeri Mulrow
Acting Director
Devon Adams
Chief, Criminal Justice Data Improvement Program

FROM:

Allina Lee
Statistical Policy Advisor

SUBJECT:

Non-substantive Change to OMB# 1121-0314 Firearm Inquiry Statistics (FIST)
Program – adding four new questions to survey instrument

DATE:

April 12, 2016

The purpose of this memorandum is to advise OMB of and request approval for proposed changes to the
approved Firearm Inquiry Statistics (FIST) Program survey instrument.
Briefly, the FIST program collects data on firearm background check activities from a sample of local agencies
authorized to conduct background checks and combines these data with data obtained from state reporting
agencies, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and
Explosives (ATF) to produce a national estimate of firearm applications, denials, and reasons for denials. Since
1995, BJS has conducted the FIST survey. The Regional Justice Information Service (REJIS) was competitively
awarded a cooperative agreement in FY 2014 to, under BJS’s direction, continue its efforts to administer the
FIST data collection.
Proposed survey revisions
As part of our overall effort to improve the FIST methodology and respond to increased interest by
policymakers, government officials, and the public about why applications for firearm transfers are denied, we
continue to strategize ways to collect more reliable and complete information about reasons for denials. As
discussed in the methodology section of the FIST publication, Background Checks for Firearm Transfers, 2012
– Statistical Tables,1 collecting data on reasons for denial is complicated by several factors, in particular
BJS is currently in process of finalizing the Background Checks for Firearm Transfers – Statistical Tables, 2014.
The publication is expected to be released in June 2016.

1

differences in the methods checking agencies follow to track and record reasons for denial and variations in how
Federal and state law prohibitions are classified. A key challenge to collecting these data is also high item
nonresponse – some agencies do not report data to FIST, though the reasons for not doing so are not always
clear.
We are proposing to add four new questions to the FIST survey instrument to obtain better information on if and
how agencies collect data on reasons for denial. Our goal is to better understand the processes followed to track
and report this information and identify what resources could help to improve these processes. The questions are
designed to obtain more detailed information on how agencies track denials, why agencies are unable to track
denials (if applicable), and what resources would enable them to begin tracking summary statistics of denials (if
applicable). One of the proposed questions asks respondents to estimate what proportion of the agency’s denials
are made up of various major categories, including felony arrests, charges, and convictions, domestic violence
convictions and protective (restraining) orders, and state law prohibitions. Attachment I highlights the new
instructions and questions for ease of review.
In addition to the new questions, we also propose to retain the survey screener questions only for those states
(Minnesota, Nebraska, and Washington) where the checking/permitting function can vary amongst local
agencies within the state, e.g. in some counties a sheriff’s office may be doing checks, while in others the local
police department does the checks, or in some cases both do the checks. By contrast, in a place like Iowa, for
example, the checking/permitting authority is always the local sheriff and there is no deviation from this
authority (i.e., no local police departments do the checks). BJS’s experience has shown that, in places where
there is certainty about who is a checking/permitting agency, the screener questions may inadvertently confuse
the respondent and result in agencies inaccurately exempting themselves from the survey. In other words, in
most cases, the screener questions do not reduce respondent burden and may cause agencies to mistakenly
believe they are ineligible to participation in the survey.
A copy of the revised FIST survey can be found in Attachment II.
Pretest results
REJIS sent the revised survey and a brief evaluation form to obtain feedback on the new proposed questions to 9
local agencies that did not provide data on reasons for denial for the 2012 FIST collection. The objective of the
pretest was to get feedback on the wording and organization of the new questions. Six agencies responded, of
which 5 returned the evaluation form and 3 provided data in addition to completing the evaluation form.
Overall, the feedback received was positive. All 5 respondents that returned an evaluation form reported that the
questions were either easy or somewhat easy to understand and that the ordering made sense. Four out of 5
respondents reported that the new Q4 included the most common methods used to track reasons for denial, and
all 5 respondents reported that the new Q8 included the most common barriers to tracking reasons for denial. All
5 respondents also reported they would be able to provide the requested estimates of reasons for denial (new
Q6). Attachment III provides a summary of the pretest results.
Burden
The approved respondent burden for the current FIST survey is 25 minutes. This approved estimated burden
included 10 questions about activities related to appeals, arrests, and reversals. Due to historically high item
nonresponse, these questions were removed from the 2013-2014 FIST survey instrument.
The additional questions we are proposing to add will not require respondents to query or tabulate new or
additional information. Rather, they are designed to obtain information on processes and resources. The new
proposed Q10 asks respondents to provide an estimate of denials by categories that they should already
maintain, which should not result in any increased burden. Respondents also have the option to skip this
question if they are not able to provide the information. Additional clarification and instructions have also been
added to the form which has increased the amount of time required to review and complete the survey. BJS feels
that the additional instructions and guidance are critical elements to include and will actually serve to reduce
burden by providing better clarification and thus alleviating confusion. Even if there would be an additional

response burden associated with the new questions, BJS estimates it would not exceed the time respondents
spent answering the 10 questions on the prior form related to appeals, arrests, and reversals, so the 25 minute
estimate is still practical.
Three respondents provided data during pretesting, and 2 completed a survey and an evaluation sheet. The
average respondent burden was 25 minutes (20 and 30 minutes) for the agencies that returned both an evaluation
form and submitted a survey. The remaining agencies reported the estimated time spent completing the
evaluation form.2
Based on these responses, the deletion of questions related to arrests and appeals, and the fact that the additional
questions will not require respondents to query or tabulate new or additional information, we anticipate the
estimated burden will remain 25 minutes annually.
Web-form
As detailed in the approved OMB clearance package, the FIST web-form was designed and tested with input
from survey methodologists, subject matter experts, and background checking agency stakeholders. The webform is intended to encourage participation by providing a secure, convenient mode of responding to the FIST
survey and is intended to streamline the survey process by eliminating questions that the respondent may not
need to see, thus also reducing response burden. It is also designed to reduce item nonresponse by requiring that
a response to critical items is submitted before continuing to the next question.
Each FIST participant will continue to be provided a unique User ID and password that will allow secure access
to the web form. In order to reduce any differences in response as a result of the mode by which a respondent
chooses to participate in the survey (mode effects), particularly mode effects due to the different web and mail
response modes, the web-form was designed to mimic the visual presentation of the paper survey as much as
possible. The wording of the questions is consistent between the two modes.
The modifications to the web-form will be finalized upon receiving OMB’s approval of the proposed changes.
Screenshots of the current web-form are provided to show the layout and sequence, which will be updated with
the new questions upon approval.
Implementation plan
Pending OMB approval of the proposed survey changes, REJIS will complete the modifications to the web-form
and paper survey and redraw the FIST sample. The 2015 FIST data collection is scheduled to begin in May
2016.
Summary
BJS seeks OMB approval of the above noted changes to the FIST survey. We will work to expeditiously
respond to any OMB inquiries and/or requests for additional information.
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.
Attachments:
Attachment I: List of new proposed FIST survey questions and instructions
Attachment II: Revised FIST survey (proposed)
Attachment III: Summary of pretest results
Attachment IV: Screenshots of current FIST web-form

2
The agency that reported a burden of 45 minutes indicated in a follow up call that they were initially confused by the
request, which resulted in a higher than accurate burden to complete the evaluation form.