SUPPORTING STATEMENT
Generic Testing – 2021 Feral Swine Survey
OMB No. 0535-0248
This mini-supporting statement is being submitted to OMB to define the need for conducting qualitative research, in the form of cognitive interviews, for the upcoming 2021 Feral Swine Survey.
The 2021 Feral Swine Survey, sponsored by the National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) and conducted by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), will ask questions about the economic impact of feral swine damage to livestock, crops, and property, as well as feral swine hunting and control methods. The Feral Swine Survey will be conducted in 2021 using multiple data collection modes. Response will be voluntary.
The purpose of this research study is to conduct no more than 20 cognitive interviews with operators of livestock farms in order to assess respondents’ understanding of the draft questions and the potential measurement error associated with these questions. The goals of these cognitive interviews will be to: understand the respondents’ comprehension of questions and terminology; understand barriers to the retrieval of information requested on the questionnaire, including any record keeping practices; observe the respondents judgement and communication of the information requested, and understand how to align responses to the question/questionnaire’s intent; and, glean ways to reduce respondent burden while maximizing overall response strategies. Respondents for the cognitive testing will be recruited using the NASS list frame and previous survey data.
The current draft of the Feral Swine questionnaire is provided as an attachment, along with potential probes to use during the cognitive testing.
A. JUSTIFICATION
Circumstances making collection of information necessary.
The 2021 Feral Swine Survey, sponsored by the National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) and conducted by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), will ask questions about the economic impact of feral swine damage to livestock, crops, and property, as well as feral swine hunting and control methods. The purpose of this research study is to conduct no more than 20 cognitive interviews with operators of livestock farms in order to assess respondents’ understanding of the draft questions and the potential measurement error associated with these questions. The goals of these cognitive interviews will be to: understand the respondents’ comprehension of questions and terminology; understand barriers to the retrieval of information requested on the questionnaire, including any record keeping practices; observe the respondents judgement and communication of the information requested, and understand how to align responses to the question/questionnaire’s intent; and, glean ways to reduce respondent burden while maximizing overall response strategies.
How, by whom, and for what purpose information is to be used.
NASS’s Methodology Division, Census and Survey Division, and NAHMS to determine the changes to the format and content of the survey, as well as the best way to ask questions about the constructs of interest on the survey will analyze the information gathered through the qualitative research.
The draft questionnaire is attached to this request. A draft of the types of questions asked during the cognitive interviews is also attached.
Use of improved information technology.
The cognitive interviews proposed would be done remotely by phone and shared screens, where possible, by trained cognitive interviewers from HQ.
4. Efforts to identify duplication.
No additional efforts will be taken to identify duplication. Respondents who are selected for the cognitive interviews will be selected from the NASS list frame and previous survey data, which has removal of duplication performed on an ongoing basis.
Methods to minimize burden of small businesses.
For these cognitive interviews, no special efforts will be made to minimize burden of small businesses. Ideally, we hope to include operations of varying sizes, from diverse sales groups.
Consequence if information collection were less frequent.
This is a one-time cognitive interview project. The questionnaire for the survey is due by January 2021 for submission with the survey OMB docket. Therefore, these cognitive interviews are planned for October and November 2020, so that any changes can be incorporated into the version submitted to OMB at that time.
Special circumstances.
There are no special circumstances associated with this information collection.
Federal register notice and consultation with outside persons.
Not applicable.
Payments or gifts to respondents.
There are no payments or gifts to respondents.
Confidentiality provided to respondents.
The same confidentiality that is applied to the survey will be applied to data collected during the cognitive interviews.
Questions of a sensitive nature.
The survey may ask questions related to biosecurity practices, which could be considered sensitive.
12. Hour burden and annualized costs to respondents.
Trained cognitive interviewers or survey methodologists who work at NASS headquarters will conduct all interviews.
We plan to conduct a maximum of 20 thirty to sixty minute cognitive interviews for 20 total burden hours.
Cost to the public of completing a questionnaire is assumed to be comparable to the hourly rate of those requesting the data. Reporting time of 20 hours is multiplied by $37.47 per hour for a total cost to the public of $749.40.
NASS uses the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment Statistics (most recently published on March 31, 2020 for the previous May) to estimate an hourly wage for the burden cost. The May 2019 mean wage for bookkeepers was $20.65. The mean wage for farm managers was $38.63. The mean wage for farm supervisors was $25.25. The mean wage of the three is $28.18. To calculate the fully loaded wage rate (includes allowances for Social Security, insurance, etc.) NASS will add 33% for a total of $37.47 per hour.
Total annual cost burden to respondents.
There are no capital/start-up or ongoing operation/maintenance costs associated with this information collection.
Annualized costs to federal government.
Costs for conducting the qualitative research interviews are estimated at $14,000. This will cover expenses for staff payroll, travel, survey analysis, and any other expenses that may be incurred while updating survey materials based on our findings.
Reasons for changes in burden.
This mini-supporting statement addresses the use of burden to conduct testing for the survey.
Tabulation, analysis, and publication plans.
No data will be published from these tests. Data are for internal use only, but results may be presented at outside conferences or seminars.
Request for approval of non-display of expiration date.
There is no request for approval of non-display of the expiration date.
18. Exceptions to certification statement.
There are no exceptions to the certification statement.
B. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS:
Respondent universe, sampling, and response rate.
NASS will use the list frame and previous survey data to identify operations that meet the screening criteria for the Feral Swine Survey. The operations will not be statistically sampled; rather, they will be hand selected based on their size, location, presence of livestock, and other important criteria that are identified. HQ staff and Regional Field Office staff will recruit respondents for the interviews.
Procedures for the collection of information.
Interviewers will follow standard pretesting techniques as defined in the original Supporting Statement Part A for the Generic Clearance docket (0535-0248).
Information collected adequate for intended uses.
Operations will be selected based on specific criteria as stated above.
Test of procedures or methods.
Not applicable.
Individuals consulted on statistical aspects of survey.
The Methodology Division did selection of methods of testing for this qualitative research; Chief Cognitive Research Methodologist is Jaki McCarthy, (202) 690-2389. Senior Survey Methodologist is Kathy Ott, (202) 720-1114.
October 2020
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | HancDa |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-01-13 |