SIPP Disabilities Module Pretesting Plan

The Census Bureau plans to conduct additional research under the generic clearance for questionnaire pretesting research (OMB number 0607-0725). The objective of this research is to conduct cognitive testing of a revised Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) Disabilities Module.

The redesigned SIPP Disabilities module aims to improve data collection by adding several questions about the respondent’s health condition and its impact on his or her ability to work and do other activities. There are also new questions that ask about the health condition of the respondent’s child and whether that health condition limits ordinary activities fit for a child’s age.

In September and October 2013, staff from the Center for Survey Measurement (CSM) plan to conduct two iterative rounds of testing with a maximum of 15 interviews for each round. Interviews will be with respondents who are older than 18 years of age, have a disability, or have children ages 5-17 years of age who have a disability. These respondents will be recruited because we want to test the questionnaire with the types of people who have characteristics applicable to the SIPP disabilities module. To the maximum extent possible, within these specific criteria we will attempt to interview respondents of varying ages, genders and educational levels. We will use a multi-pronged strategy to recruit the respondents needed for this study, such as posting ads in free local newspapers and contacting local associations.

The interviews will be conducted in the Washington DC metropolitan area. The interviews will be conducted at the Census Bureau’s cognitive laboratory, offices of community associations, and locations convenient to respondents. The cognitive interviews will be conducted using a paper version of the CATI instrument. A copy of the questionnaire with the research protocol is attached.

Cognitive interviews will be tape-recorded, with the participants' permission, to facilitate a summary of the results. All participants will be informed that their response is voluntary and that the information they provide is confidential. Respondents will receive $40 for their participation.

The estimated time for completion of each cognitive interview is one hour. Thus, the estimated burden for the additional research is 30 hours.

The contact person for questions regarding data collection and study design is:

Rodney L. Terry

Center for Survey Measurement

U.S. Census Bureau

Room 5K022E

Washington, D.C. 20233

(301) 763-5475

Rodney.Terry@census.gov

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