OMB Package part B

CHOICE NEIGHBORHOODS DEMONSTRATION
STUDIES – TASK ORDER #2

OMB CLEARANCE PACKAGE
August 1, 2014

PART B. STATISTICAL METHODS
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B1. RESPONDENT UNIVERSE, SAMPLE SELECTION AND EXPECTED RESPONSE RATES .............................................11
B2. PROCEDURES FOR THE COLLECTION OF INFORMATION .............................................................................11
B2.1 FLYER WITH REQUEST FOR PHONE UPDATE ................................................................................. 12
B2.2 FLYER WITH REQUEST FOR MAIL UPDATE.................................................................................... 12
B2.3 SOCIAL MEDIA ...................................................................................................................... 13
B2.4 CULTURAL COMPETENCE ......................................................................................................... 13
B3. METHODS TO MAXIMIZE RESPONSE RATES AND TO DEAL WITH ISSUES OF NON-RESPONSE ..............................14
B4. INDIVIDUALS OR CONTRACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR STATISTICAL ASPECTS OF THE DESIGN .................................14

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PART B. STATISTICAL METHODS
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has contracted with the Urban Institute and
its subcontractor (Decision Information Resources (DIR) to track the contact and location information for
the 750 target development and 947 neighborhood residents from the Choice Neighborhoods
Evaluation Panel (“the Panel”). The purpose of this tracking is to understand the mobility patterns of
Choice Neighborhood residents and to achieve a strong response rate on any follow up surveys that the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) may conduct in future.
B1. Respondent Universe, Sample Selection and Expected Response Rates
The respondent universe consists of all respondents from the Choice Neighborhood Baseline Survey and
we will track the entire universe (see Table B1). We assume we will be able to track 100% of Panel
households throughout the tracking period.
Table B1: Respondents as of May 13, 2014

New Orleans ………………
Chicago…….…………………
Boston…………………………
Seattle………………………
San Francisco…………….
Total

Focal Development Households
Universe Size
179
199
80
163
129
750

Neighborhood Households
Universe Size
204
227
189
116
211
947

B2. Procedures for the Collection of Information
The research team will employ both passive and active tracking strategies. Passive strategies are
usually a reliable way to obtain address updates for a majority of the Panel. However, Panel members
do not actually confirm address data provided through passive strategies, so active tracking is used four
times per year to be sure that the Panel member’s contact information is accurate. Active tracking
always involves direct contact with the Panel member—whether by mail, by phone, or in person. The
tracking plan for the Choice Panel calls for a quarterly post card (three quarters per year) and an annual
mailing to all Panel members to confirm the households' location. Frequencies of passive and active
strategies are presented in Table B2.
DIR will initiate passive tracking beginning in September 2014 for Chicago panel members and in
October 2014 for panel members from the four other sites.
Table B2: Choice Neighborhoods Tracking Strategies
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Source
PIC and TRACS Data
Grantee Data

Type
Passive
Passive

National Change of Address (NCOA)3
Accurint

Passive
Passive

Frequency
Four Times Per Year
As Needed Up to Four Times
Per Year
Three Times Per Year
Annually

Mailing
Phone Call
In-Person Visit

Active
Active
Active

Four Times Per Year
As Needed Up to Annually
As Needed Up to Annually

Immediately following submission to NCOA/Accurint, DIR will initiate an active tracking strategy each
quarter. Although active strategies cost more, research indicates that reminders of the study can be the
single most important technique for producing high-response rates for panel studies (Mangione 1998,
Denton, Tsai and Chevrette 1998). Therefore, DIR will mail greeting cards or “Keep in Touch” flyers by
first class mail to all sample members at the most updated address available. All survey related tracking
materials and all tracking contacts with sample members will remind them about the importance of the
CN Panel. Electronic versions of cards/flyers will also be sent to all respondents who provide an email
address at baseline. The remainder of this statistical methods section describes the active tracking
strategies.
B2.1 Flyer with Request for Phone Update
Three quarters each year, the card/flyer will include only a toll-free number and website address set up
for this study that will give the respondent the opportunity to update their contact information online
or by phone If the card/flyer is returned in the mail, then DIR will initiate a passive strategy by doing
targeted searches of electronic data sources including Accurint, online directory assistance (DA), 5551212.com, Lexis-Nexis, and Intellius as well as the social media site Facebook™. A successful contact
would provide DIR with another avenue to communicate the need to verify or update contact
information to sample members. No additional active tracking strategies will be employed following
this search and the assumption is that if the flyer or card is not returned in the mail that the household
received it.
B2.2 Flyer with Request for Mail Update
Once a year, the flyer/card will also contain a perforated mailer and a postage-paid business reply

3

National Change of Address system of the US Postal Service.

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envelope, providing more opportunity for each panel member to update their contact information. DIR
will also send a study memento (magnet, post-its, pens, etc.) with the card/flyer once a year. If DIR
does not receive the mailer back from the respondent, the respondent does not update their contact
information online or via phone that quarter, the card/flyer is returned, or a forwarding address
notification is received from USPS, then DIR will again go back to the targeted searches of the
electronic data sources above to find updated contact information. If this search is unsuccessful, DIR
will initiate a follow-up phone call to determine if the most current telephone number(s) in the contact
database are correct. In addition to verifying the phone number, the interviewers/trackers will be using
this opportunity to verify the address and confirm that the head of household is the same head of
household that was reported during baseline data collection.
DIR will initiate follow-up phone calls to determine if the most current telephone number(s) in the
contact database are correct. This action will become necessary if there is no response to the annual
mailers and there is no online update and the postcard/flyer is returned. Appendix I shows the call out
scripts that will be employed to contact respondents. After a pre-determined number of unsuccessful
telephone attempts (e.g., 3-5), a DIR field locator will visit the household to determine if the head of
household still lives there. Appendix II presents the field locating scripts.
Based on its extensive tracking experience, DIR estimates that about half of the neighborhood sample
and ten percent of the target development sample will require a follow-up phone call. About fifty
percent of these cases are expected to be resolved by telephone contact, with the remaining fifty
percent being assigned to a field locator for in-person contact and verification.
B2.3 Social Media
DIR will attempt to locate panel members through social media portals like Facebook™ and
Instagram™. DIR will also set up tracking website to facilitate self-reporting by panel members who are
contacted via email. Additionally, all outgoing correspondence will reference the tracking website to
give panel members that option.
B2.4 Cultural Competence
DIR will be culturally sensitive and aware of the cultural diversity of this sample by ensuring that all
tracking materials are translated in to the native language of the primary sample members as agreed
upon by the study team. In addition, the Panel includes residents who may have low levels of literacy,
be disabled, or be refugees. DIR will use culturally competent methods to ensure that they are
respectful of all members of the Panel. This may include: outreach to community leaders and elders,
community leaders and participants by respecting their culture and explaining how the community may
benefit from the study; disclosing the level of confidentiality and the effort taken to protect their
information; understanding that there are different interpretations of words among subgroups; and
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hiring culturally appropriate field locator staff familiar with the population and the neighborhood.
B3. Methods to Maximize Response Rates and to Deal with Issues of Non-response
DIR’s trained field locators will help to attain response-rate goals with the population for this study. Field
locators are experienced (or will be thoroughly trained) in techniques for finding hard-to-reach
populations, such as speaking with alternate contacts, neighbors, friends, or other people in the
community. The locators will use original contact information or any updated information for the
sample members and the alternates to conduct in-person home visits.
To uncover further leads regarding the sample members’ whereabouts, field locators will also use
standard field methods, such as communicating with gatekeepers and neighbors, postal delivery
persons, and other residents in the area to help identify local gathering places where sample members
may be found. It will be important for locators to try to obtain a nickname or street name, if applicable.
The field locator can communicate possible leads about the sample member, family members, or friends
to the DIR tracking team for additional assistance in obtaining a good address for an in-person visit and a
good time for contacting the person.
In addition to hiring and training experienced field locators for the project, DIR’s passive tracking
strategies (quarterly extracts from HUD’s PIC/ TRACS, Grantee provided contact information, National
Change of Address Data, and Accurint extracts) will be central to maintaining fresh contact information
to facilitate tracking Panel members.
B4. Individuals or Contractors Responsible for Statistical Aspects of the Design
The agency responsible for receiving and approving contract deliverables is:
Office of Policy Development and Research, Program Evaluation Division
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 Seventh St, SW
Washington, DC 20410
Person Responsible:
Ashaki Robinson-Johns HUD/GTR, (202) 402-7545, Ashaki.Robinson-Johns@hud.gov
The organization responsible for Panel member active and passive tracking is:
Decision Information Resources, Inc. (DIR)
2600 Southwest Freeway, Suite 900
Houston, TX 77098
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Persons Responsible:
Dr. Russell Jackson, DIR President, (832) 485-3701, rjackson@dir-online.com
Mr. Lenin Willams, DIR Project Manager, (713)-650-1425 x 132,
lwilliams@dir-online.com
The organization responsible for statistical design of data that will be collected is:
The Urban Institute
2100 M ST NW
Washington, DC 20037
Person Responsible:
Ms. Megan Gallagher, Principal Investigator, (202) 261-5253, mgallagher@urban.org

The organization responsible for analyzing all data to be collected is:
The Urban Institute
2100 M ST NW
Washington, DC 20037
Person Responsible:
Ms. Megan Gallagher, Principal Investigator, (202) 261-5253, mgallagher@urban.org

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