| Survey Item | Question Text | Revision | Rationale |
| Over18 | First, are you over 18 years of age or older? | We added this question. | This question was added to determine whether the participant themselves are completing the survey or if their parent/guardian is completing the survey on their behalf. How respondents answer this question will change what consent langauge they see in I2. |
| I1 - Survey Consent | We added the following language to the consent: 1. The U.S. Department of Education's Rehabiliation Services Administration. 6. You may also be asked to participate in an interview sometime in the next few years. 7. [If the participant is completing the consent] I give permission for my parent, caregiver or guardian to talk about my experience in the SWTCIE project, in a short interview or focus group. |
We moved the consent to appear first in the survey before we collect any Personally Identifiable Information. The language added informs participants they may be contacted to participate in a separate interview. Additionally, the consent language in number seven provides language for the participant to provide consent for their parent, caregiver or legal guardian to speak about their experience in future focus groups. | |
| A1 | This survey is for people using services from vocational rehabilitation agencies. In [STATE] that agency is known as [STATE VR NAME]. | Changed the order of response categories to have "I am a parent or guardian completing on behalf of my child" first in the selection. | During pretesting, parents who were completing on behalf of their youth were selecting "I am completing it myself or with help" rather than selecting "I am a parent or guardian on behalf of my child". |
| A3 | Please record the name of the person you are completing the survey for below. | Added the word "participant" in front of the name of the individual we are collecting information about. | During pretesting, parents of participants provided their own name, rather than the name of the participant who the survey questions would be asked of. We added this text to make it clear of which individual's name we wanted to collect. |
| B1 | [Do you/does NAME] currently have a paid job ? | Added the word "currently" to the question text. | "Currently" was added to specify the time period we are requesting information regarding their employment. |
| B2 | How many jobs [do you/does NAME] currently have ? | ||
| B3 | How many hours per week [do you/does NAME] usually work at this job? |
Added probes to specify the number of hours a repsondent works: [IF PARTICIPANT HAS MORE THAN ONE JOB] PROBE IF NEEDED: How many hours per week [do you/does NAME] usually work at your main job? [IF PARTICIPANT HAS MORE THAN ONE JOB] PROBE IF NEEDED: [Your/NAME’S] main job is the job where [you/they] work the most hours. |
The probes were added to account for individuals who work variable hours and/or more than one job. |
| B4 | How many weeks per year [do you/does NAME] usually work at [this job/your main job] including paid vacation and holidays? this job ? [IF PARTICIPANT HAS MORE THAN ONE JOB] [Your/NAME’s] main job is the job where [you/they] work the most hours. There are 52 weeks in a year. If you have worked less than a year, please answer for the number of weeks you expect to work. |
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| B4a | Is the [job/jobs] [you/[NAME]] [have/has] year-round or do [you/they] work only part of the year? | We added this question. | Feedback from one of the states participating in the Evaluation suggested participants may have difficulty knowing the number of weeks they work in a year, created new question and response categories to collect information whether their job(s) were year round or only part of the year. |
| B5 | About how much [are you/is [NAME]] paid for [this job/your/[NAME’S] main job], before taxes or deductions are taken out? | Revised question text to ask for an amount participants make and then ask about the frequency of the amount in order to calculate earnings. We also added a response category for "every two weeks" for a pay period. The previous question text read: "What is [your/Name's] regular hourly pay, including tips and commissions? |
Based on pre-testing, we revised this question to specify the job they work the most hours. |
| B6 | There are a number of special work programs available to people with disabilities. Is [your/NAME’s] job part of a segregated vocational program, transitional employment program, the Business Enterprise Program for the blind, or a supported employment program? | Revised question text to read: "Are there other individuals with disabilities at your job?" | Feedback from one of the states participating in the Evaluation suggested the question is lengthy and contains many technical terms that participants may not know what they mean. |
| B7 | [Do you/does NAME] currently attend a day program or workshop at least once a week? | Wer added a probe to the exisiting question to define "day program" and "workshop" | During pretesting, participants had difficulty understanding the terms "workshop". We added this probe to provide additional context for the survey question. |
| C1a | "How would you describe your current living arrangements?" | We added this question. | During pretesting, particpants had difficultly understanding "specify" when presented with the response options. Added a new question to ask participants in their own words about their living arrangements. This question was included on the baseline to be consistent between the baseline and follow-up survey. |
| D INTRO | The last questions are about how to contact [you/[NAME]] in the future for the follow-up survey. We may also contact [you/[NAME]] to participate in an interview. Please include contact information for the person who would be best to complete a survey or interview about [NAME]’s experiences. | The second sentence of the introduction was changed to read: "Please include contact information for the person who would be best to complete a survey or interview about [NAME]'s experiences" The previous sentence read: "Please include contact information from whom we should contact to schedule a future interview". |
Based on pre-test feedback, revised question text to provide clarity for whom we are requesting contact information. |
| D1b | Would it be ok for us to contact [you/[NAME]] about taking part in an interview sometime in the next few years? This would be in addition to us contacting you about the follow-up survey. | We added this question. | The evaluation team is forward planning for recruitment efforts for the participant interviews and focus groups in future years. This question would allow the evaluation team to ensure participants who would like to be a part of the additional data collection efforts are contacted in the future. |
| Survey Item | Question Text | Revision | Rationale |
| I1 - Survey Consent | We added the following language to the consent: 1. The U.S. Department of Education's Rehabiliation Services Administration. 6. You may also be asked to participate in an interview sometime in the next few years. 7. [If the participant is completing the consent] I give permission for my parent, caregiver or guardian to talk about my experience in the SWTCIE project, in a short interview or focus group. |
We moved the consent to appear first in the survey before we collect any Personally Identifiable Information. The language added informs participants they may be contacted to participate in a separate interview. Additionally, the consent language in number seven provides language for the participant to provide consent for their parent, caregiver or legal guardian to speak about their experience in future focus groups. | |
| A1 | This survey is for people using services from vocational rehabilitation agencies. In [STATE] that agency is known as [STATE VR NAME]. | Changed the order of response categories to have "I am a parent or guardian completing on behalf of my child" first in the selection | We changed the order to match the revision in the baseline survey. In the pretest, parents who were completing on behalf of their youth were selecting "I am completing it myself or with help" rather than selecting "I am a parent or guardian on behalf of my child" |
| A2b | Are you completing the survey on behalf of [FILL FIRST NAME] [FILL MIDDLE NAME] [FILL LAST NAME]? | Created new questions. | This question was added to collect the name of participants who are completing the survey on behalf of the participant. |
| A2c | Please tell us your name below. | ||
| A2d | Thank you for your time. We need to check our records before continuing the interview. Please contact the [Mathematica Survey Operations Center] at [toll free number] and ask for [TBD name], a survey representative at [Mathematica], to complete the survey. | This question was added to ensure either the participant or their caregiver or parent were completing the survey. | |
| B2 | What type of school is this? | Revised text in response categories "An ungraded school" was changed to "A vocational or other post-secondary program" "A college or other post secondary program" was changed to "A college" |
Pre-test participants had difficulty understanding "ungraded school". We revised the response categories to differentiate between college and a vocational training program. |
| C3 | How many hours per week [do you/does NAME] usually work at this job? |
Added probes to specify the number of hours a repsondent works: [IF participant WORKS MORE THAN ONE JOB] IF NEEDED: How many hours per week [do you/does NAME] usually work at your main job? [IF THE participant WORKS MORE THAN ONE JOB] PROBE IF NEEDED: [Your/NAME’S] main job is the job where [you/they] work the most hours. |
The probes were added to account for individuals who work variable hours and/or more than one job. |
| C4 | How many weeks per year [do you/does NAME] usually work at [this job/your main job] including paid vacation and holidays? this job ? [IF B2>1] [Your/NAME’s] main job is the job where [you/they] work the most hours. There are 52 weeks in a year. If you have worked less than a year, please answer for the number of weeks you expect to work. |
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| C4a | Is the [job/jobs] [you/[NAME]] [have/has] year-round or do [you/they] work only part of the year? | We added this question to match the employment questions on the baseline survey. | Feedback from one of the states participating in the Evaluation suggested participants may have difficulty knowing the number of weeks they work in a year, created new question and response categories to collect information whther their job(s) were year round or only part of the year. |
| C5a | “Let’s talk about the job at which [they[NAME]/you] work the most hours”]. Which of the following describe [NAME]’s/YOUR] job? Select all that apply |
The original question (C4) was split into two questions to clarify the type of job they have in C5a and then to clarify the type of employment in C5b. C5a includes response categories 1,2 &6 from the original C4, and C5b includes reponse categories 3, 4 & 5 from the original C4. | The first question serves to determine the type of wage the participant receives and the second clarifies the type of employment. |
| C5b | |||
| C5 | What kind of business is this? | The original question was deleted. | We will collect from participants in the following question the kind of work they do at their job. |
| C7 | What is [your/[NAME]'s regular hourly pay, including tips and commmissions? | Changed the question to read: "About how much [are you/is [NAME]] paid for this job, before taxes or deductions are taken out ?' | During pretesting, participants had difficulty calculating hourly pay, we revised the question to get more granularity in the response options. |
| C9 | [Do you/does NAME] currently attend a day program or workshop at least once a week? | Wer added a probe to the exisiting question to define "day program" and "workshop" | During pretesting, participants had difficulty understanding the terms "workshop". We added this probe to provide additional context for the survey question. |
| D1 | Since [baseline survey date], have [you/[NAME]] used or participated in any of the following services? | Revised question text to include "or participated in". Revised item D., deleted item E. and J. In Item D - we removed the text "job serach assistance, including…" the question text now reads "Help filing out an application, writing a resume, or going for an interview?" Item E: "Help applying to a training program, including help with an application or interview" was deleted. Item J: "Life skills training, such as shopping for [yourself/themselves] learning how to balance a checkbook, etc.] was also deleted as it was not relevant to employment. |
During pretestings, participants began to lose focus when answering these question. Items in D1 were deleted to decrease the amount of respondent fatigue participants could expereince. Items in D2 were moved to be asked directly after individuals respondents "yes" to participating in that service to keep them oriented to the question. |
| D2 | Since [baseline survey date], have [you/[NAME]] used or participated in any of the following services? | Moved responses to be asked directly after if individuals participated in any of the services | |
| D5 | In general, how easy or difficult was it for [you/NAME] to get the information [you/they[NAME]] wanted about services from [PROGRAM NAME]? Was it… | Revised question text to drop "or [your/their] representative" | We removed the word "representative" to keep the survey consistent in the language we used to describe participants. |
| E1a | "How would you describe your current living arrangements?" | The is a new question. | During pretesting, particpants had difficultly understanding "specify" when presented with the response options. Added a new question to ask participants in their own words about their living arrangements. |
| F1 | Last month, did [you/[NAME]] receive any income from any of the following programs? | Revised to create three separate questions (F1a, F1b, F1c) with Yes/No responses rather than one question where participants select all that apply. F1a -This question specifically asks income received from SSI or SSDI. F1b - This question asks specifically about income from public assistance or welfare payments. F1c-This question asks specifically about income from public assistance payments from the state they reside in. |
During pretesting participants had difficulty answering the question with the response categories as we originally wrote them with all the response categories included in one question. A parent of a participant suggested we revise and break out the question to understand the nuances of the programs participants are involved in. |
| Item | Revision | Rationale |
| Instruction tab | Updated the instructions tab to mirror the instruction tab used for the cost workbook | Staff who reviewed the instrument requested additional rationale and clearer instructions for completing the workbook |
| Definitions tab | Provided additional clarity and examples in definition/constructs based on pretest feedback | Staff requested additional clarity on terms such as "participant", what training could be, etc |
| Data Requsted tab | Dropped several demographic variables including race, ethnicity, age, and gender | Pretesters felt that these items would be challenging for them to get and some staff would not want to report them. After reviewing our analysis plan, the study team decided that the removed categories are not imperative to our analysis |
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 0000-00-00 |