GQV Hotel/Motel Questionnaire – Cognitive Interview Protocol
Part 1: Exploratory Questions
Please pretend that I’ve never heard of a hotel. How would you explain what a hotel is?
Please tell me about the person or organization that owns your hotel.
Part 2: Cognitive Interview Questions
Next, I’d like to ask you some questions that our field staff will be asking staff at lodging facilities such as yours in the next census. As you answer these questions, I’d like you to tell me what goes through your mind as you answer them. I’m not looking for anything in particular. I just want to get a sense of how you would go about answering the questions.
[As needed:] Please remember to say what you’re thinking about.
GQV Questionnaire – Hotel/Motel
1. [Review facility address before starting questionnaire.]
2. I am going to ask you questions about the building or facility at {ADDRESS}.
3. I am going to show you a list. [Show respondent flashcard by sharing the window of the flashcard file. Close after response.] Which of these categories best describes this place?
RESPONSE:___________________
4. Sometimes hotels and other lodging facilities are used to house people experiencing homelessness. Are ALL of the rooms or units at this location used ENTIRELY to house people experiencing homelessness?
RESPONSE: Yes No
If Yes, Go to 5
If No, Go to 7
5. What is the full name of this facility?
RESPONSE:___________________
6. What is the maximum number of people experiencing homelessness who can live or stay here? RESPONSE:___________________
Skip to 15a
7. Will this lodging facility be open at any time during March or April?
RESPONSE: Yes No
If Yes, Go to 8
If No, Go to 11
8. Sometimes hotels or lodging locations may have people who stay for extended periods of time or use a room as a temporary or long-term residence. Are any of the rooms at this location ever rented by people who may not have another place where they usually live or stay?
RESPONSE: Yes No
If Yes, Go to 9
If No, Go to 11
9. What is the full name of this lodging facility?
RESPONSE:___________________
10. What is the maximum number of rooms available for rent at this location? RESPONSE:___________________
11. Is there also a marina at this address? RESPONSE: Yes No
If Yes, Go to 12
If No, and answer to 8 was Yes, Go to 14
If No, and answer to 8 was No, Go to 22
12. Will this marina be open at any time during March or April?
RESPONSE: Yes No
If Yes, Go to 13
If No, and answer to 8 was Yes, Go to 14
If No, and answer to 8 was No, Go to 22
13. Does this marina allow liveaboard boats?
RESPONSE: Yes No
If Yes, Go to SITE MAP TL
If No, and answer to 8 was Yes, Go to 14
If No, and answer to 8 was No, Go to 22
14. Do you have an online or paper site map or plan of your facility or grounds that our staff can use in the future to find the places where people can live or stay?
RESPONSE: Yes No
Skip to 15b
15a. [Give respondent “GQV-GQ Brochure” that explains the GQAC and GQE operations, and allow time to read it.] As you can see, there will be two more operations. First, the Advance Contact operation is scheduled to be conducted during February and March. Then the enumeration operation will begin in April. Are you the best person to reach out to during those future operations, as the primary contact for this address?
RESPONSE: Yes No
If Yes, Go 17a
If No, Go to 16
15b. [Give respondent “GQV-TL Brochure” that explains the TLAC and ETL operations, and allow time to read it.] As you can see, there will be two more operations. First, the Advance Contact operation is scheduled to be conducted during February and March. Then the enumeration operation will begin in April. Are you the best person to reach out to during those future operations, as the primary contact for this address?
RESPONSE: Yes No
If Yes, Go 17a
If No, Go to 16
16. What is the name of the primary contact person we should contact at that time?
17a. What is [your/their] job title?
17b. What is [your/their] business email address?
17c. What is [your/their] business telephone number?
18. Is there a secondary contact person for this address?
RESPONSE: Yes No
If Yes, go to 19a
If No, go to 20
19a. What is their name?
19b. What is their job title?
19c. What is their business email address?
19d. What is their business telephone number?
20. During the Advance Contact operation, how would you prefer to answer our questions? Your options are to complete an internet questionnaire, be interviewed over the telephone, or be interviewed in person.
RESPONSE: Internet Questionnaire, Telephone Interview, or In-Person Interview
If Internet Questionnaire, go to 18.
If telephone or in-person option, go to 19.
21a. To respond through the internet questionnaire, you will need to swear an oath to keep the data confidential before you can complete the questionnaire. I can help you quickly complete that oath now before I leave, or we can send you instructions later about how to make an appointment to complete the oath through a video call. Do you want to complete the confidentiality oath now?
RESPONSE: Yes No
If yes, present SSS Text document on screen and allow R time to read it, then go to 21b.
If no, go to 22.
21b. Please read this document and indicate whether you would sign it.
RESPONSE: Yes No
22. That completes the interview. Thank you for your time and cooperation. Someone may contact you by telephone to verify this interview.
Retrospective Probes
Thank you for sharing your thoughts as you answered those questions. In your opinion, were these questions easy or difficult to answer? Why do you say that?
[If response is “difficult”:] Which questions did you find difficult to answer? Why were they difficult?
Now I’d like to ask you some follow-up questions.
[Review answer from Q3] First, I showed you a list of different kinds of facilities, and you chose ___. [If needed, show respondent flashcard by sharing the flashcard window.]
How did you decide which description to choose?
How easy or difficult was it to choose one? Why do you say that?
[Review answer to Q4] Next I asked whether all of the rooms or units at this location are used entirely to house people experiencing homelessness, and you said ___.
What does this question mean to you?
How did you decide how to answer this question?
How easy or difficult was it to answer this question?
What does “experiencing homelessness” mean to you?
What about the terms “unhoused” or “unsheltered”? Are you familiar with those terms?
Do those terms all mean the same thing, or do they have different meanings?
[If different] How are they different?
In your opinion, are there any other terms or phrases that we should use to describe people who do not have a place to live and who may seek services from a shelter?
Have you ever heard of a hotel, motel, or other similar lodging facility being used solely for housing people experiencing homelessness?
We are thinking of alternative ways of asking this question.
[Read alternative questions one at a time and ask follow-up probes after each:]
“Is this facility used exclusively to house people experiencing homelessness?”
“Is this facility used to house people experiencing homelessness, and no other clients?”
“Is this facility used for the sole purpose of housing people experiencing homelessness?”
“Is this facility temporarily or permanently being used as a shelter for people experiencing homelessness?”
[Repeat for each alternative:] What does this question mean to you?
Would your answer to this question be the same or different from the answer you gave before?
[Review answer to Q5] Next I asked what is the full name of this facility, and you said ___.
What does this question mean to you?
How did you decide how to answer this question?
How easy or difficult was it to answer this question?
[Review answer to Q6] Next I asked what is the maximum number of people experiencing homelessness who can live or stay here, and you said ___.
What does this question mean to you?
How did you decide how to answer this question?
How easy or difficult was it to answer this question?
[Review answer to Q7] Next I asked whether this lodging facility may be open at any time during March or April, and you said ___.
What does this question mean to you?
[If needed] What does “open at any time” mean to you?
How did you decide how to answer this question?
[Review answer to Q8] Next, I asked whether any of the rooms at this location are ever rented by people who may not have another place where they usually live or stay, and you said ___.
What does this question mean to you?
How did you decide how to answer this question?
What does “people who may not have another place where they usually live or stay” mean to you?
What does “people who stay for extended periods of time” mean to you?
When you hear that, how long of a period of time do you think of?
What does “people who use a room as a temporary or long-term residence” mean to you?
In your opinion, is “residence” a good phrase to use in a question like this, or is there a better term we should use instead? If so, what term should we use instead of “residence”?
We are thinking of alternative ways of asking this question.
[Read alternative questions one at a time and ask follow-up probes after each:]
“Are there any rooms occupied by people who live or stay here most of the time?”
“Are there any people who live or stay at this hotel/motel on an extended basis, such as a weekly basis or monthly basis?”
[After asking each alternative:] What does this question mean to you?
Would your answer to this question be the same or different from the answer you gave before?
Are there specific terms that you think we should use to refer to people who are staying in your facility who have no usual home elsewhere? [If needed:] That is, people who have no usual residence to which they will return to after they leave your facility.
How easy or difficult would it be to identify which residents, if any, have no usual home elsewhere?
How would you go about identifying such residents?
[Review answer to Q9] Next I asked, what is the full name of this lodging facility, and you said ___.
What does this question mean to you?
How did you decide how to answer this question?
How easy or difficult was it to answer this question?
[Review answer to Q10] Next I asked, what is the maximum number of rooms available for rent at this location, and you said ___.
What does this question mean to you?
How did you come up with your answer this question?
How easy or difficult was it to answer this question?
[Review answer to Q11] Next I asked whether there is also a marina at this address, and you said ___.
What does this question mean to you?
Have you ever heard of a marina to have a lodging facility associated with it?
[If yes] In your experience, is it common for a marina to have a lodging facility associated with it?
[If Q11 = yes, review answer to Q12] Next I asked whether this marina will be open at any time during March or April, and you said ___.
What does this question mean to you?
[If needed] What does “open at any time” mean to you?
How did you decide how to answer this question?
[If Q11 = yes, review answer to Q13:] Next I asked whether this marina allows liveaboard boats, and you said ___.
What does this question mean to you?
Are you familiar with the term liveaboard boats?
[If needed] What does “liveaboard boats” mean to you?
In your opinion, are there better terms or phrases that we could use to describe boats that people live on?
[Review answer to Q14] Next I asked whether you have an online or paper site map or plan of your facility or grounds that our staff can use in the future to find the places where people can live or stay, and you said ___.
What does this question mean to you?
Would you have any concerns about sharing a map of your facility with Census Bureau staff?
[Review answers from Q15a and Q15b] Next I asked you to review a brochure about the Advance Contact operation.
What do you think is the purpose of that brochure?
In your opinion, was the information in the brochure clear or not clear? Why do you say that?
Then I asked you if you were the best person to reach out to during that operation and you said ___.
What does that question mean to you?
What do you think the contact person will be asked to do during that operation?
[Review answers from Q16 and Q18] Next I asked you for [your contact information / contact information for a primary contact] and information for a secondary contact.
[If Q15a or Q15b = no] How did you decide whose name to provide as a primary contact?
[If Q18 = yes] How did you decide whose information to provide as a secondary contact?
Would you have any concerns about providing [your contact information / contact information for a primary contact] and information for a secondary contact?
[Review answer to Q20] Then I asked you how you would prefer to answer our questions during the Advance Contact operation and you said ___.
What does that question mean to you?
How did you decide how to answer that question?
[If needed] Please tell me in your own words what the three options mean to you:
Internet questionnaire?
Telephone interview?
In-person Interview?
[If Q20 = Internet Questionnaire, review answers from Q21a and Q21b] Finally, I asked you whether you wanted to complete an oath to keep the data confidential now, and you said ___.
What does that question mean to you?
How easy or difficult was it to answer that question? Why do you say that?
[If Q21a = yes] Then I showed you the oath document. What did you think about that?
Please tell me in your own words what you think is the purpose of the oath we ask you to take?
Would you have any concerns about signing such a document? Why do you say that?
If you didn’t want to sign the form now we could set up an appointment for you to complete the oath later through a video call. What does that mean to you?
Have you ever used a video conference application on a computer? [If needed] These would include applications like Microsoft Teams, WebEx, and Zoom.
Thank you for talking about how you came up with your responses to those questions. Next, I’d like you to look at the definitions we have for the types of facilities we asked about during the questionnaire.
Living Quarters Type Definitions
[Present definition(s) appropriate for the participant’s living quarters type(s) on-screen, one at a time, and ask the participant to read while thinking aloud.]
[For each definition:] What is your opinion about our definition as it relates to your facility?
Is there anything about this definition that you would change?
[For Hotels:]
[Point to third sentence, “The types of units…”] Please take a look at this sentence.
In your opinion, do you find that sentence useful or not useful?
If we removed that sentence, do you think the definition would be more clear, less clear, or would it not matter?
[For Marinas:]
[Point to last sentence, “For census purposes…”] Please take a look at this sentence.
[If needed:] What does that mean to you?
Does that sentence affect how you interpret our definition of marinas? If so, how?
[For Emergency & Transitional Shelters:]
[Point to example “hotels and motels…”] One of the examples listed in this definition is the phrase “hotels and motels used to shelter people experiencing homelessness.”
If we are trying to describe hotels or motels that are being used solely to house people experiencing homelessness, and no other types of clients, would either of the following wording options be better to use?
“hotels and motels that are being used as shelters for people experiencing homelessness”
“hotels and motels that have been temporarily or permanently converted to shelters for people experiencing homelessness”
Part 3: Additional Questions (time permitting)
Has your facility, or other similar lodging facilities that you know about, ever been used for any of the following special purposes –
To house students from a particular college, university, or seminary that does not have enough space in their standard student housing buildings, such as dormitories and residence halls?
By correctional agencies to temporarily house inmates or detainees that are being transported to or from a correctional facility?
By federal, state, or local agencies to house groups of immigrants?
[If Yes to any of the above:] Are any special procedures or agreements established to accommodate this special purpose?
During the actual census, what would be the job title of the best person to answer questions about the services provided at your facility?
Do you have any suggestions for the best ways to contact them?
Would the same person be able to coordinate with Census Bureau staff to collect demographic information (such as name, sex, date of birth, and race) from clients? [If needed:] For example, to allow Census Bureau staff to distribute questionnaires to the clients or conduct interviews with the clients?
Do your facility records include clients’ home addresses?
[If Yes:] During the actual census, could that information be shared with the Census Bureau, for the purpose of ensuring we only count each person one time in the census?
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Kristin D Koslap (CENSUS/POP FED) |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2025-08-12 |