Cognitive Interview

OMB Control Number 1024-0254

Current Expiration Date XX-XX-XXXX

National Park Service

Centennial National Household Survey

Cognitive Interview Pretesting

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT STATEMENT: The National Park Service is authorized by 54 USC 100702 to collect this information. The purpose of this collection is to conduct telephone interviews what will be used by the NPS Social Science Branch to determine respondent comprehension prior to the administration of the pre-test version of the National Park Service Centennial National Household Survey. The overall results will be used to develop a final survey will measure the awareness, engagement, values, and preferences of both visitors and non-visitors to assess the relevancy of NPS as well as to assess change over time, which in turn will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of NPS efforts to increase its relevancy. Responses to this request are voluntary and anonymous. Your name will never be associated with your answers, and all contact information will be destroyed at the end of the data collection process. No action may be taken against you for refusing to supply the information requested. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number and expiration date.

BURDEN ESTIMATE STATEMENT: Public reporting burden for this is estimated to average 25 minutes per response. Direct comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this form to: Bret Meldrum, Chief, Social Science Program, National Park Service, [email protected] (email).

Introductory Script

Hello, my name is _________. I’m calling on behalf of the National Park Service, and I’m not selling anything. I’m working with a research group at the University of Wyoming to produce the National Park Service Centennial Survey. Your phone number was randomly chosen. I will need about 25 minutes of your time to ask some questions about the services the National Park Service offers. After I ask you these questions, I will ask you to tell me what you thought about the questions themselves. Would you be able to help me out with this?

If hesitation or “I don’t think so”

A lot of people think they do not know a lot about National Parks. But that is really the point. We want to write questions that most people can understand. We want these questions to make sense to everyone. So, may I continue?

If Yes or maybe,  Skip to PRIVATE

If No,  Skip to THANKS

THANKS.

Thank you for your time.

PRIVATE.

Have I reached you at a private household in one of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia?

If Yes,  Skip to VOLUNTARY

If Not private or not U.S.,  Skip to SORRYPH

If Don’t know/Not sure  Skip to SORRYPH

If No answer/Refused  Skip to SORRYPH

SORRYPH.

I am sorry, but we are interviewing only private households. Thank you for your time.

VOLUNTARY.

I won't ask for your name, address or other personal information that may identify you. Your participation in this survey is voluntary. You don't have to answer any questions you don't want to and you may end the interview at any time.

If you have questions about your rights as a research subject you can call the University of Wyoming Internal Review Board and I can provide that number. May I continue?

Only if asked: The number for the University of Wyoming IRB administrator is (307) 766-5320

If Yes or maybe,  Skip to AGE

If No,  Skip to THANKS

THANKS.

Thank you for your time.

AGE.

I need to make certain that I am talking with someone who is at least 18 years of age. Are you 18 years old or older?

If Yes,  Skip to CELL1

If No,  May I please speak with an adult in the household?

If No,  I am sorry to have bothered you. Good bye.

If Yes,

Hello, my name is _________. I’m calling on behalf of the National Park Service, and I’m not selling anything. I’m working with a research group at the University of Wyoming to produce the National Park Service Centennial Household Survey. Your phone number was randomly chosen for this study. I will need about 25 minutes of your time to ask some questions about the services the National Park Service offers. After I ask you these questions, I will ask you to tell me what you thought about the questions themselves. Would you be able to help me out with this?

If Yes,  Skip to CELL1

If No,  I am sorry to have bothered you. Good bye.

CELL1.

And I need to ask. Have I reached you on a cell phone?

If Yes,  Skip to CELL2

If No,  Skip to question 1

CELL2.

I am not allowed to interview you while you are driving, or doing anything else that may be dangerous if you are distracted. May I continue or should I call at another time?

If Yes,  Skip to PRE1

If Call at another time  Schedule a call back.

PRE1

Before we begin testing the questions under development, I have two preliminary questions to ask you.

1. In what state do you currently live, or do you live in D.C.?

________ (enter state or D.C.)

998. Don't know/Not sure

999. No Answer/Refused

The National Park System consists of all the park units managed by the National Park Service. Park units include national parks, national seashores, historic sites, battlefields, national monuments and other designations. Although these different designations exist, I will refer to all park units in this survey as ‘national parks.’

PV1. How many times in the past two years have you visited a national park?

________ (type number of visits here)

If PV1= 0, skip to NV17

998. Don't know/Not sure (skip to NV17)

999. No Answer/Refused (skip to NV17)

Okay. The questions I am going to ask you are in the development stage for our survey, so there are no right-or-wrong answers, we just need your feedback.

The final version will be a telephone survey and we just want to make certain that people hear and understand the questions over the phone.

I will start by asking you a series of questions about your visitation experiences. Please just answer each question as if you were taking the final survey.

How important is each of the following to you when visiting a national park?

PV23. View outdoor exhibits? Is it…

PV25. Attend a cultural demonstration or performance? Is it…

1. Very important

2. Important

3. Not so important

4. Not important at all

998. Don't know/Not sure

999. No Answer/Refused

Now I want to ask you a couple of questions about what you thought the survey questions were asking.

PV2325a. First, did you understand that the questions were about your personal opinion as opposed to your family or your group?

1. Yes

2. No

998. Don't know/Not sure

999. No Answer/Refused

PV2325b. Did you hear in the original questions that I was asking about how IMPORTANT these activities are as opposed to whether you engaged in these activities?

1. Yes

2. No

998. Don't know/Not sure

999. No Answer/Refused

NOTE TO REVIEWERS: The questions in the yellow box will only be used by the interviewer and not asked of the respondent. The intent is to identify problems with the question wording and/or answer choices.

Interviewer: complete the following (without asking the respondent):

Did the respondent …

PV22c. ask you to repeat the question? Yes No

PV22d. have any difficulty using the response options? Yes No

PV22e. ask for clarification or qualify their answer? Yes No

PV22f. suggest alternative questions or answers ? Yes No

Here is the next question.

PV7. As you know, some of the costs of travel such as gasoline, hotels, rental cars, and airline tickets often increase. Would you still have made your most recent visit to a national park if your personal share of total trip costs were $ [bid amount] more than the amount you spent on this trip?

The bid amount will be randomly selected from the following bid vector:

2, 10, 20, 30, 45, 60, 75, 100, 125, 150, 200, 250, 350, 500, 750

1. Yes

2. No

998. Don't know/Not sure

999. No Answer/Refused

Ok, let me ask you …

PV7a. Were you able to recall the cost of your last visit to a national park, even just a ballpark estimate?

1. Yes

2. No

998. Don't know/Not sure

999. No Answer/Refused

PV7b. On your most recent visit to a national park were you part of a group?

1. Yes

2. No (skip to PV34)

998. Don't know/Not sure (skip to PV34)

999. No Answer/Refused (skip to PV34)

PV7c. Did the group comprise family members?

1. Yes

2. No

998. Don't know/Not sure

999. No Answer/Refused

PV7d. When I asked you about an increase in the total trip costs, did you answer thinking about the group’s total trip cost?

1. Yes

2. No

998. Don't know/Not sure

999. No Answer/Refused

Interviewer: Complete the following (without asking the respondent):

Did the respondent …

PV7e. ask you to repeat the question? Yes No

PV7f. ask for clarification or qualify their answer? Yes No

PV7g. suggest alternative questions or answers ? Yes No

Thank you for your answers. Here I my next question.

Please tell me how much you agree or disagree with the following statement.

PV34. “Visiting National parks is an opportunity for me to be around people who share my values.” Do you….

1. Strongly agree

2. Somewhat agree

3. Neither agree nor disagree

4. Somewhat disagree

5. Strongly disagree

998. Don't know/Not sure

999. No Answer/Refused

Now I would like to know what you were thinking when you answered the question. When you heard, “people who share my values,” did you think …?

PV34a. People who look like me?

1. Yes

2. No

998. Don't know/Not sure

999. No Answer/Refused

PV34b. People who are in the same line of work as me?

1. Yes

2. No

998. Don't know/Not sure

999. No Answer/Refused

PV34c People who like the same things I like?

1. Yes

2. No

998. Don't know/Not sure

999. No Answer/Refused

PV34d. Are there any other thoughts that came to mind when you heard “people who share my values?”

Interviewer: Complete the following (without asking the respondent):

Did the respondent …

PV34d. ask you to repeat the question? Yes No

PV34e. ask for clarification or qualify their answer? Yes No

PV34f. suggest alternative questions or answers ? Yes No

The next series of questions are concerned with what people during their leisure or free time.

I’m going to list three things that people might do during their leisure, or free time. We are interested in how important these are to you personally. For each one, tell me how important it is to you personally to engage in the activity during your leisure, or free time.

NV17. Volunteering in your community. Is it…

NV18. Using a bike/pedestrian/multi-use path.

NV28. Surfing the Internet

1. Very important

2. Important

3. Not so important

4. Not important at all

998. (Don't know/Not sure)

999. (No Answer/Refused)

PV28a. Please tell me, what does “leisure or free time” mean to you?

PV28b. When trying to think of the importance of these activities to you, were you thinking of how much you want to engage in a particular activity, or rather how much you actually do engage in a particular activity, or something else?

Interviewer: Complete the following (without asking the respondent):

Did the respondent …

PV28c. ask you to repeat the question? Yes No

PV28d. ask for clarification or qualify their answer? Yes No

PV28e. suggest alternative questions or answers ? Yes No

We're interested in why people don't visit national parks or don’t visit more often. I'm going to read a series of statements. I'd like you to think of your own experiences, and tell me how much you agree or disagree with each statement:

I don’t visit national parks or don’t visit more often because:

NV12. I don’t have much in common with people who work in the national parks.

Do you…

1. Strongly agree

2. Somewhat agree

3. Neither agree nor disagree

4. Somewhat disagree

5. Strongly disagree

998. Don't know/Not sure

999. No Answer/Refused

NV12a. Did you hear that I was asking about people who WORK in national parks?

1. Yes

2. No

998. Don't know/Not sure

999. No Answer/Refused

NV2b. Do you think this question is important?

NV2c. Do you think this question is appropriate for this survey?

NV2d. Do you want to comment on the clarity of this question?

Interviewer: Complete the following (without asking the respondent):

Did the respondent …

PV28c. ask you to repeat the question? Yes No

PV28d. ask for clarification or qualify their answer? Yes No

PV28e. suggest alternative questions or answers ? Yes No

The following series of questions have to do with National Park Service programs outside of the parks. Remember there are no right-or-wrong answers.

The National Park Service offers numerous programs outside of the National Parks. These programs range from education to assisting communities with preserving their cultural heritage, protecting local natural resources, and expanding recreational opportunities.

The following questions are about your awareness of your community’s experience with cultural programs provided by the National Park Service.

By experience we mean the full range from simply being aware of the program to being involved in the program.

Please tell me yes or no …

CP2. Has your community received financial assistance from the National Park Service in the form of grants and/or tax credits to support historic preservation projects?

1. Yes

2. No

998. Don't know/Not sure

999. No Answer/Refused

Now I would like to know what you were thinking when I asked this question.

CP2a. Did you hear that the question asked about your awareness of YOUR COMMUNITY’S experience rather than your personal experience?

1. Yes

2. No

998. Don't know/Not sure

999. No Answer/Refused

CP2b. When you hear “community,” what comes to mind …

CP7. How important is it to you, personally, that the National Park Service offers communities assistance with the preservation of local historic buildings and sites which commemorate American history and culture or significant events and people?

1. Very important

2. Important

3. Not so important

4. Not important at all

998. Don't know/Not sure

999. No Answer/Refused

Now I would like to know what you were thinking when you answered this question.

CP7a. Was it clear to you that we are asking about how important it is to you personally that YOUR COMMUNITY receives assistance?

1. Yes

2. No

998. Don't know/Not sure

999. No Answer/Refused

CP7b. Do you want to comment on the clarity of this question?

Interviewer: Complete the following (without asking the respondent):

Did the respondent …

CP7c. ask you to repeat the question? Yes No

CP7d. have difficulty with the response choices? Yes No

CP7e. ask for clarification or qualify their answer? Yes No

CP7f. suggest alternative questions or answers ? Yes No

To finish, I need to ask you three more questions.

3. What is your age?

________ (type answer here)

998. Don't know/Not sure

999. No Answer/Refused

D3. Are you Hispanic or Latino?

1. Yes

2. No

998. Don't know/Not sure

999. No Answer/Refused

D4. I’m going to read a list of racial categories. Please select one or more to describe your race. Are you . . .

1. American Indian or Alaska Native

2. Asian

3. Black or African American

4. Native Hawaiian or other Pacific islander

5. White

6. (Other)

998. Don't know/Not sure

999. No Answer/Refused

That’s all. Thank you very much for helping us. I know this will help to improve the final survey for the National Park Service. Do you have any questions for me?

Thanks again.

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