2012 Economic Census for Puerto Rico Pretesting Plan

This letter is to inform you of our plans to conduct additional research under the generic clearance for questionnaire pretesting research (OMB number 0607-0725). The Census Bureau plans to conduct cognitive interviews on the 2012 Economic Census for Puerto Rico - Construction, which is a self-administered mail out/mail return survey conducted by the Census Bureau every 5 years. Data collected include general company information, revenue, employment and payroll, hours worked, assets, capital expenditures, depreciation, selected expenses, kind of business, detail of revenue, type of construction and two special inquiries. The purpose of the form is to measure the private sector of the economy and to facilitate the calculation of gross domestic product.

The primary purpose of these cognitive interviews is to discover how respondents react to two versions of a new type of construction question. (The previous version had substantial item nonresponse, so it has been simplified.) Additionally, we intend to have respondents review all the questions and determine: Is the requested information available in respondent’s records? Do respondents have issues with comprehending the terminology used in the questions? How burdensome are the questions? Findings will be used to determine which version of the type of construction question will be used as well as whether any changes will be made to other questions.

In late June, one member of the Response Improvement Research Staff (RIRS) and one member of the Company Statistics Division will travel to Puerto Rico to conduct a maximum of 15 cognitive interviews with construction companies. We plan to try to recruit companies of different types and sizes, focusing on those companies who had item nonresponse on the type of construction question on the 2007 Census.

Respondents will be told that their participation is voluntary. Monetary incentives for participation will not be offered. After companies are recruited, Census staff will provide follow-up reminders by telephone and/or fax.

We will record interviews with the participants’ permission, to aid researchers in accurately reporting findings and recommendations. We also will inform the participants that the information they provide is confidential and will not be shared with anyone not directly involved in this research project.

Enclosed are copies of the draft 2012 Economic Census, Puerto Rico – Construction (this will be edited to refer to 2011 for the cognitive interviews), the two versions of the revised type of construction question (which will be formatted to match the main form), and a draft cognitive interview protocol.

We expect that each interview will last no more than 60 minutes. Thus, the total estimated reporting burden for this research is approximately 15 hours (1.0 hours X 15 interviews).

The contact person for questions regarding data collection and analysis of the respondent debriefing is listed below:

Kristin Stettler

Response Improvement Research Staff

Office of Economic Planning and Innovation

U.S. Census Bureau

Washington, D.C. 20233

(301) 763-7596

Kristin.J.Stettler@census.gov

Cc:

W. Bostic (ADEP) with enclosure

T. Smith (AMSD) with enclosure

J. Whitaker (ADEP) with enclosure

D. Willimack (ADEP) with enclosure

K. Stettler (ADEP) with enclosure

P. Gibson (ADEP) with enclosure

L. Wentela (CSD) with enclosure

C. Funk (CSD) with enclosure

C. Caldwell (CSD) with enclosure

J. Mayer (CSD) with enclosure

D. Hynek (DOC) without enclosure