Appendix Survey Protocol - InfoBook Testing

Appendix A: Current Information Booklet excerpts

Small electrical kitchen appliances, including –

blender bread maker coffee grinder coffee maker crockpot deep fryer electric barbecue electric can opener electric fondue set electric frying pan

electric grill electric iron electric knife electric timer electric wine chiller electric wok food processor hot plate ice cream maker juicer

mixer pizza oven popcorn maker rice cooker sandwich grill slow cooker smoothie maker toaster toaster oven waffle iron

Electrical personal care appliances, including –

curling iron denture cleaner digital scale electric hair trimmer electric razor

electric toothbrush facial sauna flat iron foot bath hair dryer

heating pad make-up mirror massager Waterpik

Computers, computer systems, or related hardware, including

cables CD/DVD drive computer printers external hard drive keyboards laptops

memory modems monitors mouse netbooks scanner

Musical instruments, supplies, or accessories, including –

brass instruments carrying case clarinet drums guitar keyboards music books music stand piano picks reeds	rosin saxophone sheet music stringed instruments strings for musical instruments trombone trumpet valve oil woodwinds any other musical accessories
Do not include repairs, music lessons, or band uniforms.

Lawn mowing machinery or other yard equipment, including –

edger electric lawn trimmer garden hose lawn mower rake shovel

snow blower spreader tiller tractor (farm, garden, etc.) weed digger wheelbarrow

General sports equipment, including –

badminton set baseball bat baseball glove basketball basketball hoop bowling ball boxing equipment football Frisbee golf bag golf clubs helmets karate equipment	lawn games pads racquetball racquetball racket roller blades skateboard soccer ball sports protective equipment sports uniform table tennis equipment tennis racket volleyball
Do not include any shoes for sports. Do not include any equipment for water sports.

Closet and storage items, including –

drawer organizers drawers garment bag garment racks

hampers hangers hanging bags shelf organizers

shoe bag shoe rack storage bins underbed storage

Recreational lessons or other instructions, including –

cooking dancing driving golf horseback riding instructional day camps

music needlepoint painting photography sailing self defense

sewing skiing skydiving swimming tennis

Appendix A: Protocol

Welcome! Thanks for your interest in our survey. You’re here because we have asked you to participate in our research to improve survey questions. We are asking you and hundreds of other people to tell us about what they think.

Unlike some surveys or online tasks you may be familiar with, we ask that you complete this survey all at one time and that you only start once you are in a quiet place where you won't be disturbed. The survey takes about 10 minutes, on average. Only share information you're comfortable with - nothing too personal - but please be honest and follow the instructions.

 Please do not use your browser's back button. 

This voluntary study is being collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under OMB No. 1220-0141 (Expiration Date: April 30, 2018). You are not required to respond to this collection unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. We will use the information you provide for statistical purposes only. Your participation is voluntary, and you have the right to stop at any time. This survey is being administered by Qualtrics and resides on a server outside of the BLS domain. The BLS cannot guarantee the protection of survey responses and advises against the inclusion of sensitive personal information in any response. By proceeding, you give your consent to participate in this study.

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We are asking for your help to improve our survey questions. We are considering changing one of our surveys and we need to learn whether the new version will make sense to respondents.

On the following pages, you’ll be asked to answer questions about expenditures your household may or may not have had over the last three months. We will then ask you some additional questions to better understand your answers.

Let’s get started!

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We’ll start by asking a few questions about you.

What is your age in years?

What is your gender?

• Male

• Female

• Prefer not to say

What is the highest level of school you have completed or the highest degree you have received?

• Grades 1-12/No Diploma

• High School Diploma or Equivalent

• Some College

• Associate’s Degree

• Bachelor’s Degree

• Master’s Degree

• Doctorate or Professional Degree

Are you Hispanic or Latino?

• Yes

• No

What is your race? (you may select more than one)

• American Indian or Alaska Native

• Asian

• Black or African-American

• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

• White

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Now we’ll ask you about your recent expenses:

Since the first of April, have you or any members of your household had any expenses for [FILL]?

[Here are some examples of the kinds of expenses that would fit in this category:]

[Item Item Item Item]

[Item Item Item Item]

[Item Item Item Item]

[Item Item Item Item]

[Do not include XX]

Yes

No

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If Yes to the expense question:

What was the total expense?

[numeric text entry]

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If Yes to the expense question:

Please tell us what individual expenses went into that total expense that you just reported.

[table with 5 rows and columns for Item and Amount Paid]

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If Yes to the expense question:

Were there any items or services that your household had expenses for that you considered might fit into this category (FILL), but that you decided to exclude from your initial response?

[5 text-entry boxes]

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We are trying to understand what kinds of expenses the phrase “(FILL)” makes people think of. What are the FIRST five expenses that would fit into this category that come to mind? Even if you have never had that expense yourself, please include it.

[5 text-entry boxes]

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Please look through the items listed below and mark whether you would consider the item as part of “(FILL)”. If you are not sure, mark “not sure”.

	Definitely YES	Definitely NO	Not sure
[Item]
[Item]
[Item]

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If saw any Information Booklet examples:

At the beginning of this survey, we showed you a list of examples of items that were included in the category “FILL”. We want to learn if the examples we showed are “typical” of this category – by typical, we mean common or usual.

Here’s an example of what we mean:

How typical is each of these items of the category “Fruit”?

Apple = Very typical

Pomelo = Not at all typical

Please tell us below your opinion about how typical of the category “FILL” each item is.

	Very typical	Somewhat typical	Not at all typical
[Item]
[Item]
[Item]

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Thanks so much for your participation! Your unique completion code for mTurk is: [FILL].

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