Various Demographic Area Pretesting Activities

Help Text – For this study, the help is designed to clarify the ambiguity from the complex scenario. It is not necessarily consistent with the original ACS help text.

Live or Stay:

Include in count anyone who:

• Is currently living or staying there for more than 2 months

• Intends to be there for more than 2 months, even if they have been there less time than that, as of today

• Is away now but is not planning to be away for more than 2 months

• Is a child living at boarding school or at summer camp

Do NOT include anyone who:

• Is currently a college student living away at school for more than two months

• Is armed forces personnel, living away for more than two months

Has another place to live or stay

Relationship:

Roomer or boarder – Occupies the same residence as the owner and pays rent directly to the owner

Housemate or roommate – Shares living quarters primarily to share expenses, including rent, BUT does not share a close personal relationship

Other nonrelative – Not related AND not one of the options listed

Type of Unit:

• If house has open space on all sides, then select “A one-family house detached from any other house”

• Count both vacant and occupied units

• Condominiums are equivalent to apartments

• If a townhouse has been converted into a condominium or apartment, count as an apartment

Year Built:

Select the range in which the original construction was FINISHED.

Rooms:

• Include only whole rooms used for living purposes, such as living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, finished recreation rooms, family rooms, enclosed porches suitable for year-round use, etc. DO NOT count bathrooms

• Partially divided rooms, such as a dinette next to a kitchen or living room is a separate room ONLY if there is a built in partition or wall from floor to ceiling

• Count bedrooms as if this unit was for sale, not based on their current use

Telephone:

Select ‘Yes’ under the following conditions:

• There is a telephone in working order AND someone receives service

• Someone has a cell phone that can both make AND receive calls

Select ‘No’ if the telephone service is disconnected for nonpayment or other reasons

Vehicles:

Include in count:

• Cars, vans or SUVs if they are

  • Regularly kept at home AND

  • Used by household for nonbusiness purposes

Do NOT include in count:

• Recreational Vehicles

• Motorcycles

Fuel:

Fuel oil or kerosene – Include any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat

Solar energy – Include any system that collects, stores, and distributes energy directly from the sun

Other fuel – Include fuel not listed separately, such as:

• Purchased steam

• Fuel briquettes

• Geothermal heat pumps

• Waste materials

Internet:

• Dial-up service - uses a regular telephone line to connect to the Internet. This is typically the slowest type of Internet connection, at an average data transfer speed of 56Kbps (Kilobytes per second)

• DSL service - uses a regular telephone line to connect to the Internet. DSL averages between 768Kbps and 1.5Mbps (Megabytes per second)

• Cable modem service - uses a cable TV line to connect to the Internet. It has average connection speeds of 1Mbps and 6Mbps.

• Fiber-optic service - uses a fiber-optic line to connect to the Internet. It is currently the fastest land-based Internet connection available at almost 25 times faster than DSL or cable.

• Mobile broadband plan - includes wireless broadband Internet service that users access through a portable modem in a computer or cell phone. Mobile broadband speeds are typically faster than dial-up, but still average under 2,000Kbps.

• Satellite service - uses a satellite dish to connect to the Internet. It is the fastest Internet option available, but is not wired.

• Some other Internet service - only use this when none of the previous options describes a household’s Internet service.

Hispanic Origin:

The concept of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin as used by the Census Bureau reflects self-identification. It does not indicate any clear-cut scientific definition that is biological or genetic in reference.

Race:

The concept of race, as used by the Census Bureau, reflects self-identification by individuals according to the race or races with which they identify.

Marital Status:

Now married – currently legally married, regardless of whether or not their spouses live with them

In a registered domestic partnership or civil union – currently legally registered by the state as a domestic partnership or civil union

Widowed – currently widowed

Divorced – currently divorced

Never married – never been married or whose only marriage has been legally annulled

Attend School:

Answer ‘Yes’ if the school leads to an elementary school certificate, high school diploma, or college, university, or professional school degree.

Answer ‘No’ for vocational or technical schools, adult education classes, and on-the-job-training.

Educational Attainment:

• Only select one option

• If a person is enrolled in a grade or program but has not yet started, select the grade or highest level previously COMPLETED.

Difficulty Walking:

Answer ‘Yes’ if it is most of the time or always very difficult or impossible for the person to:

• Walk three city blocks

• Climb a flight of stairs

Otherwise, answer ‘No’

Work Last Week:

Include any week the person spent on PAID vacation, PAID sick leave, or military service. Do not include weeks in which the person was on unpaid vacation or unpaid leave for the complete week

Employee Type:

If work for cooperative, credit union, mutual insurance company, etc, then select “An employee of a PRIVATE NOT-FOR-PROFIT, tax exempt, or charitable organization”

If work for a US Federal department (Commerce, Justice, Agriculture), elected Federal official, Foreign government, then select “a Federal GOVERNMENT employee”

If work for a public state University, then select “a state GOVERNMENT employee”

If work as a private independent contractor, then select “SELF-EMPLOYED in own NOT INCORPORATED business, practice, or farm”

Hours Worked:

Include extra hours usually worked, even if they are not compensated.

Select the range in which the typical hours per week fall. For example, if the person usually works 40 hours per week, select 31-40.

Fifty More Weeks/Weeks Worked:

There are 52 weeks in a year.

Exclude any time off without pay for persons who had unpaid vacations, unpaid sick leave, periods of layoff or strike, periods receiving disability insurance when not actually working, etc.

Transportation to Work

If a person works from several different locations, use their method of transportation to their primary place of work.