Government Units Survey Cognitive Interviews Plan

The Census Bureau plans to conduct additional research under the generic clearance for questionnaire pretesting research (OMB number 0607-0725). We will be conducting cognitive interviews for the Government Units Survey (GUS). The GUS collects information on the funding and services that local governments receive. The survey collects this information on four different types of local government entities: special districts (e.g., airports, libraries, or transit agencies), county governments, townships, and municipalities.

This survey was last conducted in 1987. The Governments Division would like to update the form layout and revise the content of the questionnaire. To evaluate the new questionnaire, staff from the Response Improvement Research Staff within the Census Bureau’s Office of Economic Planning and Innovation will be conducting cognitive interviews. From October to December of 2010, we plan to conduct unstructured interviews with approximately 40 different local government entities. We will conduct eight to ten interviews with each of the four types of government entities. To ensure that we test these questions on a range of different types of governments with unique or special features, we will be visiting the government entities in approximately five different geographical areas: the Washington D.C. area and four other geographical locations throughout the U.S. These other locations may include New Jersey, Georgia, Ohio, California, Texas, Colorado, and Idaho. The Governments Division will determine the locations for these non-local interviews. After we recruit government entities, we will email or fax them follow-up reminders about their appointments.

Interviews will take place at the government site. The cognitive interviewing will focus on the respondents’ ability to provide the requested data, as well as their understanding of the wording and terminology used on the form, and the overall form layout. Additionally, subject area specialists from the Census Bureau will accompany the researcher on most, if not all, of the interviews. They will assist with respondent debriefing, especially in cases where additional clarification of the subject matter is required.

We will record the interviews with the participants’ permission, to aid researchers in accurately reporting findings and recommendations. Before beginning the interviews, we will inform participants that their response is voluntary. We also will inform the participants that the information they provide is confidential. We will not be providing monetary incentives to participants in this study.

We estimate that it will be necessary to interview only one participant at each government entity. We estimate the length of the interviews will average 1 hour. Therefore, the maximum estimated burden for this research is 40 hours.

Enclosed are a draft copy of the questionnaire with the protocol we will be using for pretesting.

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

Jennifer Beck

Response Improvement Research Staff

7K033N

U.S. Census Bureau

Washington, D.C. 20233

(301) 763-1736

jennifer.l.beck@census.gov