OMB Memo

Generic Information Collection Request: Pretesting Questionnaires and Definitions Used to Classify Lodging Facility and Transitional Shelter Group Quarters

Request: The Census Bureau plans to conduct additional research under the generic clearance for questionnaire pretesting research (OMB number 0607-0725). We plan to conduct cognitive interviews to evaluate questionnaires and definitions used to classify group quarters (GQs). GQs are places where people live or stay in a group living arrangement and which are owned or managed by an entity or organization that provides housing and may also provide services to its residents or clients. GQs include places like hotels, transitional shelters, hospitals, nursing homes, student and worker housing, and correctional facilities. Group Quarters Operation is an operation within the Decennial Census that enumerates residents of GQs. During an early stage of this operation, Census Bureau field staff will administer questionnaires to administrators of GQs to classify the GQs according to the GQ type definitions. The focus of this study is on the questionnaires and definitions used to classify lodging facilities (hotels, motels, etc.) and transitional shelters.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate updated GQ type definitions, classification questionnaires, and other materials for lodging and transitional shelters through cognitive interviews. The interviews will be conducted by staff from the Census Bureau’s Center for Behavioral Science Methods. The results of the cognitive interviews will be used to inform revisions to the questionnaires and GQ type definitions.

Population of Interest: This study will focus on two categories of group quarters:

1. Lodging Facilities (Hotels, Motels, Hostels, etc.)

2. Emergency/Transitional Shelters

Timeline: The interviews will be conducted from December 2023 through January 2024.

Language: The interviews will be conducted in English only.

Method: The interviews will be conducted using a cognitive interview protocol. Interviewers will verbally administer the GQ-type classification questionnaires. Participants will be instructed to think aloud as they complete the questionnaires. Interviewers will administer follow-up probes to gather more information about how participants interpret specific questions and terms, and about their processes for answering them. Next, participants will be asked to review and comment on draft GQ type definitions related to their facilities, followed by some additional questions as time permits. During the cognitive interviews, participants will also review draft brochures that administrators will be asked to read during the actual field interviews that provide information about the subsequent census operations, and the non-disclosure oath that administrators must take in order to use an electronic reporting option in those downstream operations.

Sample: We will conduct interviews with 10 of each type of facility for a total of 20 interviews. We will select two or three facilities from each of the six Census Bureau regions of the United States to obtain a degree of geographic diversity. In addition, we will attempt to obtain a diverse sample of facilities with regard to facility size as measured by the facilities’ population sizes reported during the 2020 Census.

Recruitment: We will contact GQ administrators by email using the contact information they provided during the 2020 Census and ask if they would be willing to participate in a virtual interview via Teams. We will attempt to schedule the interview for a time that is convenient for participants. Once they agree to participate in the study, participants will be sent confirmation email and a calendar invitation containing a Teams meeting link, and a reminder email will be sent the day before or the morning of the interview. The text of the recruitment emails is attached (see Enclosure 4).

Informed Consent: Prospective participants will be informed that their participation is voluntary and that any information they provide during the interview will be confidential and will only be accessible to the researchers conducting the study. Participants will be sent a link to an online consent form and asked to review and sign it prior to or at the start of the interview. The consent form is attached (see Enclosure 5).

Protocol: Two protocols will be used in this study, one for each of the two GQ types. The questions in each protocol are tailored to the specific GQ types. Each interview will be conducted using one of the two protocols, not both. The protocols are attached (see Enclosures 1 and 2).

Questionnaires: The interviewer-administered questionnaires and GQ type definitions are included in the protocols (Enclosures 1 and 2). The questionnaire flashcard and other materials to be evaluated in this study are attached (see Enclosure 3).

Use of Incentive: We will not offer an incentive to participants in this study.

Length of interview: We estimate that the interviews will last 60 minutes per participant on average. Thus, the estimated burden for 20 completed interviews is 20 hours.

We estimate that we will need to contact to up to 15 GQ administrators in order to schedule one interview, and we will send up to two emails per case. We estimate that each email will take up to two minutes to read. Thus, the estimated participant burden for recruiting 20 participants is 20 hours (15 cases X 2 minutes X 2 emails X 20 completed interviews = 1200 minutes or 20 hours).

The total estimated respondent burden for this request is 40 hours (20 hours for interviews + 20 hours for recruiting).

The following documents are attached to this letter:

Enclosure 1 – Lodging Facilities questionnaire / cognitive interview protocol

Enclosure 2 – Transitional Shelter questionnaire / cognitive interview protocol

Enclosure 3 – Flashcard

Enclosure 4 – Recruiting emails

Enclosure 5 – Consent form

The contact person for questions regarding data collection and statistical aspects of the design of this research is listed below:

Caitlyn Keeve

Center for Behavioral Science Methods

U.S. Census Bureau

Washington, D.C. 20233

[email protected]

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