Recruitment Plan and Ads

Option Year 2 American Community Survey Respondent Burden Testing

Hispanic Origin/Race and Ancestry

and Class of Worker

Recruitment Plan

Recruitment Overview

For the Option Year 2 (OY2) ACS Respondent Burden Testing, Westat will recruit enough respondents to complete 24 English-language cognitive interviews. Interviews will focus on two survey topics (Hispanic origin/Race and Ancestry and Class of Worker) and will be conducted using the self-administered paper mode.

Table 1 presents the respondent characteristics required by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Hispanic Origin/Race and Ancestry topics and Table 2 presents respondent characteristics needed to test the Class of Worker topic. Aside from the respondent characteristics described in Tables 1 and 2:

• All respondents must be age 18 and older.

• While there are no minimum requirements for multi-person households, we will strive for all respondents to reside in households with at least one other adult. If needed, we will allow for single person households to satisfy some of the specific requirements of the Class of Worker topic.

• While there are no minimum requirements for household relationships, we will track whether respondents are from households with related or unrelated members. “Related” is defined as by blood, marriage, or adoption.

• All respondents must currently work for pay.

• We will strive for most respondents to meet the requirements for both survey topics.

• While there are no requirements for other demographic characteristics, we still strive for a mix of age, sex, and level of education.

Interviews for the Hispanice Origin/Race and Ancestry topics are being conducted jointly by Westat (24 interviews) and Census (15 interviews). The Final Target Numbers in Table 1 are targets for all 39 total Census/Westat interviews.

Table 1. Respondent Characteristics for OY2 ACS Respondent Burden Testing for Hispanic Origin/Race and Ancestry

Recruitment Group	Heritage Group	Westat Minimum	Final Target
White European, Non-Hispanic	Any	6	6
Black/African American/African/Caribbean	Any	6	6
Multiracial	Multiracial (must be part white or black)	2	2
“Difficult” to recruit groups	MENA (Lebanese, Iranian, Syrian, Egyptian, Etc.) Brazilian, Guyanese, or Belizean Jamaican, Haitian, Ethiopian, Nigerian, or other specific Carribean or African heritage	3 of any	3 2 4
Remaining interviews can be anyone. After minimums are met, anyone can participate. Track race/heritage of all participants.	Specific European Heritage: European – German, Italian, English, Irish European – Russian, Scandanavian, Polish, etc. Other Asian Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander American Indian or Alaskan Native Hispanic Origin (any race)	0 0 0 0 0 0	4 2 0 0 0 0

Table 2. Respondent Characteristics for OY2 ACS Respondent Burden Testing for Class of Worker

Occupation	Minimum
Self employed	10
Owner/operator truck drivers preferred; big rig drivers (non-owner/operator) acceptable Ineligible: Delivery drivers, UPS, Uber, etc.	3
Real estate brokers and sales agents (employed by others if needed)	3
Other	4
Teachers from charter schools	2
Registered nurses	2
Multiple jobs	6 (can overlap with jobs above)

Interview locations

The interviews will be conducted at Westat’s offices in Rockville, MD or at other convenient locations for respondents in the Washington DC metropolitan area.

Interview Dates

Interviews will take place between approximately May 29, 2018 and June 22, 2018.

Screener

The screener appears in Attachment 1. It captures data on all characteristics of interest to each topic grouping, as shown in Tables 1 and 2 above. It also asks basic demographic questions such as age, gender, and education level.

Interview Progress Spreadsheet

The Interview Progress Spreadsheet is provided as a separate document. This will be the primary tool by which we will track progress in fulfilling the recruiting criteria. Within this spreadsheet, the master selection grid worksheet records each respondent’s answers to every screener question. This worksheet also tracks respondents’ basic demographic data, along with date and time of interview, and assigned interviewer. During the screening period, we will update this worksheet daily and sometimes hourly.

The Interview Progress Spreadsheet will be used to communicate to the Census Bureau which eligible cases have been selected for scheduling, which have been scheduled, and which have been completed. Westat will provide a frequent update of this document during the screening and interviewing period.

The Interview Progress Spreadsheet will allow tracking of quota fulfillment by showing completed interviews by target characteristic. This worksheet will be updated at the end of each day of interviewing.

Risk Mitigation

The Westat management team will work closely with the recruiters to track daily progress towards meeting the complex recruiting requirements. Recruiters will use the programmed screener, which creates a daily data file of answers to the screener questions. Westat will in turn update the Interview Progress Spreadsheet and provide direction on whom to schedule. All screened respondents will be told that they will be contacted for an interview only if identified as eligible; eligible respondents will be notified within three days that they have been selected for an interview.

Recruiters will use the Westat database as a starting point for recruiting. Email blasts to our database will be sent only to those who have not participated in any Westat research study or focus group in the past 12 months. Westat will also exclude those known to have participated in any previous ACS testing conducted by Westat. As needed, we may make use of OMB-approved Craigslist/LinkedIn ads to target the specific characteristics needed (see Attachment 2). Depending on the recruiting need and if appropriate, disparate characteristics may be combined into one ad. All those who respond to any recruiting advertisement, regardless of whether they are in the Westat database or not, will be screened to ensure they have not participated in any research study or focus group in the past 12 months (whether conducted by Westat or any other organization).

As discussed with the Census Bureau, the specificity of some of the recruiting requirements pose more than the usual challenges in finding eligible respondents. In addition to the strategies listed above, the Westat management and recruiting teams will draw heavily on their networks of contacts to find particular types of respondents (e.g., real estate agents, self-employed persons with multiple jobs); use snowballing techniques where appropriate (e.g., charter school teachers, owner/operator truck drivers); intercept interviewing (e.g., at a local truck stop); and advertise on Westat’s intranet (friends and family only, Westat employees will not be eligible to participate). We anticipate the latter technique to be particularly helpful in finding those in specific heritage groups. If possible, the Census Bureau will partner with Westat in this recruiting effort by posting an ad on its own intranet and to its in-house database (those who are interested will be directed to the Westat recruiting number) and by sharing any organizational contacts who may be able to help identify respondents or existing lists of respondents with any of the desired characteristics, if available.

We will be in frequent communication with the Census Bureau on recruiting progress. Should we be unable to find certain types of respondents, we will implement additional contingency plans, approved by the Census Bureau, such as making slight changes to the recruiting criteria or quotas.

Attachment 1

OY2 ACS Respondent Burden Testing Recruiting Screener

Crosswalk of Screening Items to Topics Tested in ACS Cognitive Interviews

GD = General Demographics

COW = Class of Worker

RA = Race and Ancestry

OY2 ACS Respondent Burden Testing

Recruiting Screener

Hello, this is [NAME] from Westat.

INCOMING: Thanks for calling us about participating in one of our studies. I just need to get a little bit of background information to start.

OUTGOING: I’m calling about a study we’re helping the U.S. Census Bureau with. Let me first tell you a little about it. The Census Bureau wants to be sure that questions on one of their surveys make sense to different people across the country. So we are trying to find people who are interested in helping us by giving their reactions to the questions. If you are interested and eligible, we will invite you to an in-person interview, which will take about an hour. At the end of the in-person interview you will receive $40 cash to offset the cost of participation, such as transportation or childcare costs. To make sure you are eligible for the study, I need to ask you a few questions. This will only take about 5 minutes. Is this a good time? IF NO, ASK FOR A BETTER TIME TO CALL BACK.

1. Do you live in a college dormitory, a nursing home, or in any other kind of group housing?

YES

NO

REF

DK

IF YES, REF OR DK, INELIGIBLE. THANK AND END.

GD-2. How many people 18 OR older live in your household including yourself?

___________________

REF

DK

IF ONE PERSON IN THE HOUSEHOLD, GO TO GD-3.

IF MORE THAN ONE PERSON IN THE HOUSEHOLD, CONTINUE.

GD-2a. Are you related to all of the people age 18 or older who live in this household, or are any of them not related to you?

IF NEEDED: “Related” means by blood, marriage, or adoption.

ALL ARE RELATIVES

ONE OR MORE ARE NOT RELATIVES

GD-3. How old are you?

________

REF

DK

IF UNDER 18, REF OR DK, INELIGIBLE. THANK AND END

4. When was the last time you participated in a research focus group or interview?

LESS THAN 12 MONTHS AGO

12 MONTHS AGO OR MORE

REF

DK

IF LESS THAN 12 MONTHS AGO, REF OR DK, INELIGIBLE. THANK AND END.

IF INCOMING OR RETURNING MESSAGE FROM AN INCOMING CALL, ASK GD-5.

IF OUTGOING OR RETURNING A MESSAGE FROM AN OUTGOING DATABASE CALL, SKIP TO GD-6.

5. How did you hear about the study?

CRAIGSLIST

LINKED IN

A FRIEND OR FAMILY MEMBER

COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION ____________________________________

SOME OTHER METHOD ___________________________________________

REF

DK

GD-6. What is your gender?

FEMALE

MALE

OTHER

DK

REF

COW-7. Are you currently working for pay full-time, part-time, or are you not working at this time?

FULL TIME  GO TO COW-8

PART TIME  GO TO COW-8

NOT WORKING

REF

DK

IF NOT WORKING, REF OR DK, RESPONDENT IS INELIGIBLE. THANK AND END

COW-8. How many jobs do you currently work at?

ONE JOB

MORE THAN ONE JOB (RECORD NUMBER): ________

REF

DK

COW-9. Are you self-employed?

YES

NO

REF

DK

COW-10. What is your current occupation?

________________________________________________________

REF

DK

RECORD RESPONDENT’S ANSWER VERBATIM AND MARK BOXES BELOW IF APPLICABLE.

DO NOT READ CATEGORIES ALOUD.

TRUCK DRIVER

REAL ESTATE AGENT

TEACHER

NURSE

IF TRUCK DRIVER

COW-11. What kind of truck do you drive?

________________________________________________________

REF

DK

IF UPS, FEDEX, OR SOME OTHER KIND OF DELIVERY TRUCK, INELIGIBLE AS A TRUCK DRIVER.

IF COW-8 = MORE THAN ONE JOB, GO TO GD-16. OTHERWISE, THANK AND END.

COW-12. Do you own the truck that you drive?

YES

NO

REF

DK

IF REAL ESTATE AGENT

COW-13. Which of the following best describes your role as a real estate agent?

You manage your own real estate business

You manage someone else’s real estate business

You are a sales agent

Something else (please describe) _____________________________________

REF

DK

IF TEACHER

COW-14. Do you teach at a public, private, or charter school?

PUBLIC

PRIVATE

CHARTER

REF

DK

IF NURSE

COW-15. Can you say a little bit more about the kind of nursing you do?

_____________________________________________

REF

DK

RECORD RESPONDENT’S ANSWER VERBATIM AND MARK BOXES BELOW IF APPLICABLE.

DO NOT READ CATEGORIES ALOUD.

LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSE

LICENSED VOCATIONAL NURSE

NURSE ANESTHETIST

NURSE MIDWIFE

NURSE PRACTITIONER

NURSING ASSISTANT

NURSING AIDE

REGISTERED NURSE

Now I just have a few more questions about you.

GD-16. What is the highest grade or level of education you have completed?

LESS THAN HIGH SCHOOL

HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA/GED

SOME COLLEGE (INCLUDES ASSOCIATE’S)

COLLEGE GRADUATE (BA, BS)

GRADUATE/PROFESSIONAL DEGREE (MA, MS, MD, JD, PhD, etc.)

REF

DK

RA-17. Are you of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin?

YES

NO

REF

DK

IF RA-17=NO (NOT HISPANIC ORIGIN), REF or DK, AT RA-18 USE “WHAT IS YOUR…”

OTHERWISE USE “WHAT RACE…”

RA-18. {What is your race and origin/What race and other origins are you}?

MARK ALL THAT APPLY.

WRITE-IN RESPONSE FOR “WHITE” AND “BLACK” IF MORE DETAIL PROVIDED.

IF R SAYS “WHITE” OR “BLACK/AFRICAN AMERICAN,” OR ANSWERED YES FOR RA-17, PROBE: Can you tell me more about your ancestry or ethnic origin?

WHITE ______________________

BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN ______________________

MIDDLE EASTERN (E.G., EGYPTIAN, LEBANESE, IRANIAN, TURKISH, PALESTINIAN, SYRIAN)

AFRICAN (E.G., ETHIOPIAN, NIGERIAN)

CARRIBEAN (E.G., HAITIAN, JAMAICAN)

CENTRAL OR SOUTH AMERICAN (E.G., BELIZEAN, BRAZILIAN, GUYANESE)

AMERICAN INDIAN/ALASKAN NATIVE

ASIAN

NATIVE HAWAIIAN OR OTHER PACIFIC ISLANDER

OTHER ______________________

NO OTHER RACE (IF YES AT RA-17)

REF

DK

IF MORE THAN ONE PERSON IN HOUSEHOLD (GD-2 = YES), CONTINUE.

OTHERWISE, COLLECT CONTACT INFORMATION.

RA-14. Is anyone who lives with you a different race than you?

YES

NO

REF

DK

RECORD RESPONDENT NAME AND CONTACT INFORMATION ON CONTACT INFORMATION SHEET ON THE NEXT PAGE.

Contact Information

STORE THE INFORMATION ON THIS DOCUMENT AS HARD COPY ONLY!

KEEP THIS DOCUMENT IN A LOCKED, SECURE LOCATION!

Project: U.S. Census Bureau

Name ______________________________________________________________________

Address ____________________________________________________________________

City, State, ZIP________________________________________________________________

Phone Number _______________________________________________________________

Email Address________________________________________________________________

READ CLOSING TEXT BELOW TO THANK AND END THE CALL

Thank you for answers to these questions. If you’re eligible to participate in our study, Westat will be back in touch with you within about 3 days.

____________________________________________________________________________________

IF R IS SELECTED FOR AN INTERVIEW, ASK AUDIO RECORDING QUESTION BEFORE SCHEDULING THE DATE AND TIME.

We’d like to audio record the interview. This allows us to carefully review the discussion and draw the proper conclusions. Will that be alright with you?

Yes

No DO NOT SCHEDULE

Date: __________________________

Time: __________________________

Attachment 2

OY2 ACS Respondent Burden Testing

Hispanic Origin/Race and Ancestry and Class of Worker

Craigslist/LinkedIn Template

INSERT HEADLINE Receive $40 for a 1-hour interview

Westat, a survey company headquartered in Rockville, Maryland is looking for adults 18 years of age or older to give their reactions and opinions about some survey questions in a national household survey. The in-person interview will take about an hour and will be held in Rockville. Participants will receive $40 cash to offset the cost of participation.

In the interview, participants will be asked to give their reactions to some survey questions. All information you give us will be treated as confidential. No information about you will be shared with others, and you will not be put on a marketing/mailing list.

If you are interested in participating, please call ###-###-#### and indicate that you are interested in participating in the national household survey interview. Provide your name, phone number, and a good time to reach you.

Someone from Westat will contact you and ask some questions to determine if you are eligible. Please understand that we may not be able to interview everyone who contacts us.

OY2 ACS Respondent Burden Testing

Recruitment advertising headlines by question topic

Hispanic Origin/Race and Ancestry

Are you of European origin?

Are you of Black, African American, African, or Caribbean origin?

Do you consider yourself to be more than one race?

Are you of Middle Eastern or North African origin?

Are you of South or Central American origin?

Class of Worker

Are you self-employed?

Do you work more than one job?

Are you a nurse?

Are you a long-haul truck driver?

Are you a teacher at a charter school?

Are you a real estate agent?