SOI-613 2024 CEEN Cognitive Interviews - Supporting Statement

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 1545-1349)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION:

2024 Customer Experience, Expectations, and Needs (CEEN) Cognitive Interviews

PURPOSE:

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) uses a balanced measurement system consisting of business results, taxpayer satisfaction, and employee satisfaction. The use of these balanced organizational performance measures is mandated by the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act (RRA) of 1998. In addition, Executive Order 12862 requires all government agencies to survey their taxpayers and to incorporate taxpayer experience data in process improvement efforts.

The Customer Experience, Expectations and Needs (CEEN) survey will be administered in the Fall of 2024 to Small Business/Self Employed (SB/SE) taxpayers and will include questions about their experiences, preferences, and needs. To maximize the effectiveness of the CEEN survey questionnaire, cognitive testing will be performed. Cognitive testing is used to obtain a more detailed, nuanced understanding of underlying problems or difficulties related to survey design or administration. If testing is not performed, the likelihood of measurement error increases. Findings from cognitive testing may lead to improvements to survey questions, question sequencing, and overall questionnaire structure. These improvements will enhance response rates and data quality.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Participants will come from a pool of AmeriSpeak panelists. The AmeriSpeak panel is a probability-based panel that represents the U.S. household population, from which eligible SB/SE taxpayers will be screened. The contractor (ICF) will recruit a diverse pool of individuals with varying demographic characteristics (including gender, race, ethnicity, and age) from the panel using a recruitment screener. Up to 28 (20: English, 8: Spanish) individuals will be selected for cognitive interviews.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [ ] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software [ ] Small Discussion Group

[ ] Focus Group [X] Other: Cognitive Interviews

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Name: ___Janice Hu_______________________

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [X] Yes [ ] No

2. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [X] Yes [ ] No

3. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? [X] Yes [ ] No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [X] Yes [ ] No

BURDEN HOURS

The total burden hours for the cognitive interviews is (38.6 + 15.3) = 53.9 burden hours

Category of Respondent [ENGLISH]	Number of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden Hours
Recruitment Screening – Non-participants	1,373	0 min	0
Recruitment Screening – Ineligible/Not Interested	648	1 min	10.8
Recruitment Screening – Qualified Participants	94	5 min	7.8
Cognitive Interview - English	20	60 min	20
Total Burden			38.6

Category of Respondent [SPANISH]	Number of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden Hours
Recruitment Screening – Non-participants	590	0 min	0
Recruitment Screening – Ineligible/Not Interested	147	1 min	2.5
Recruitment Screening – Qualified Participants	57	5 min	4.8
Cognitive Interview - Spanish	8	60 min	8
Total Burden			15.3

FEDERAL COST:

The cost of the English and Spanish cognitive interviews with the contractor is $18,729.

STATISTICAL METHOD:

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe? [X] Yes [ ] No

If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them?

Respondents will be selected from the National Research Opinion Center’s (NORC) AmeriSpeak Panel. The AmeriSpeak panel is a probability-based panel that represents the U.S. household population, from which eligible SB/SE taxpayers will be screened.

First, NORC will send select panel members an email that contains a link to a short online survey to screen for eligibility to participate in the cognitive interviews. Participants will be deemed eligible to participate if they can report who prepared their income tax return and are at least somewhat familiar with their return. If eligible and interested in participating in an interview, participants will indicate when they can participate. NORC will then compile a list of eligible participants, from which ICF staff will select to invite to participate.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[X] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[X] Other, Explain – Microsoft TEAMS for sharing visuals and conducting the interviews

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [X] Yes [ ] No

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

Instructions for completing Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback”

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Provide the name of the collection that is the subject of the request. (e.g. Comment card for soliciting feedback on xxxx)

PURPOSE: Provide a brief description of the purpose of this collection and how it will be used. If this is part of a larger study or effort, please include this in your explanation.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: Provide a brief description of the targeted group or groups for this collection of information. These groups must have experience with the program.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: Check one box. If you are requesting approval of other instruments under the generic, you must complete a form for each instrument.

CERTIFICATION: Please read the certification carefully. If you incorrectly certify, the collection will be returned as improperly submitted or it will be disapproved.

Personally Identifiable Information: Provide answers to the questions.

Gifts or Payments: If you answer yes to the question, please describe the incentive and provide a justification for the amount.

BURDEN HOURS:

Category of Respondents: Identify who you expect the respondents to be in terms of the following categories: (1) Individuals or Households;(2) Private Sector; (3) State, local, or tribal governments; or (4) Federal Government. Only one type of respondent can be selected.

No. of Respondents: Provide an estimate of the Number of respondents.

Participation Time: Provide an estimate of the amount of time required for a respondent to participate (e.g., fill out a survey or participate in a focus group)

Burden: Provide the Annual burden hours: Multiply the Number of responses and the participation time and divide by 60.

FEDERAL COST: Provide an estimate of the annual cost to the Federal government.

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents. Please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them. If the answer is yes, to the first question, you may provide the sampling plan in an attachment.

Administration of the Instrument: Identify how the information will be collected. More than one box may be checked. Indicate whether there will be interviewers (e.g., for surveys) or facilitators (e.g., for focus groups) used.

8