Formative Research to Develop an Open Data Platform for Reporting Environmental Health Data
OMB Control No. 0920-1154
Supporting Statement Part B –
Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods
Brian Hubbard, MPH
Health Scientist
National Center for Environmental Health
Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice
Water, Food, and Environmental Health Services Branch
Phone: (770) 488-7098
Email: bnh5@cdc.gov
Fax: (770) 488-7310
Date: May 23, 2019
Table of Contents
B.1. Respondent Universe and Sampling Methods 3
B.2. Procedures for the Collection of Information 3
B.3. Methods to Maximize Response Rates and Deal with No Response 4
B.4. Test of Procedures or Methods to be Undertaken 4
B.5. Individuals Consulted on Statistical Aspects and Individuals Collecting and/or Analyzing Data 4
Part B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods
The requested data collection does not involve statistical methods. The information requested will be used to inform the development of an open data standard and to identify which tools to use in conjunction with the open data standard for reporting environmental health data.
The respondent universe includes all people who fall into the following categories in the U.S., unless otherwise noted: open data standards experts (U.S., Canada, and Europe), municipal government information technology administrators, and environmental health personnel. An open data subject matter expert (SME), contracted by the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA), completed an ecosystem scan that included the identification of online resources for aquatic facility inspection data. The SME developed a list of jurisdictions (state and local) with open environmental health information and data (including aquatic facility inspection data); and, they developed a list of the most commonly used inspection database providers used by U.S. environmental health departments. These database providers provide services to large numbers of environmental health departments to help them maintain inspection data. Additionally the SME identified points of contact for open data standard experts from the UK’s head of data standards, the European Union’s lead agency on data standards, and experts from the United States that create standard terminology for data standards used by U.S. governmental agencies. The SME will conduct up to 43 key informant interviews with a specific number of identified points of contact from each respondent category. As needed, the SME will use a snowball sampling technique (technique to find unknown entities) to recruit future interviewees that may hold valuable information related to open data portals and open data standards used by U.S jurisdictions.
An open data expert, contracted by the National Environmental Health Association through CDC cooperative agreement (CDC-RFA-OT18-1802), will identify candidates for interviews, initially through their familiarity with the open data landscape, and then relying on snowball sampling. This approach is necessary to identify 43 individuals with information that will be helpful in developing an open data standard. All interviews will be conducted by the contractor either in-person or over the phone. Interviews will be initiated through direct contact to an individual key informant via email, phone, or Twitter direct message (similar to email), depending on how the key informant is publicly (or through existing contacts) known to be reachable (Attachment 2). One to two days before the scheduled interview, a reminder email will be sent to the respondent (Attachment 3).
The SME will collect the key informant information by taking hard copy notes on their discussions. Afterward, the information will be logged into a spreadsheet, de-identified, organized, and will be provided to the CDC in a summary of results. At no time will CDC have access to any key informant interview transcripts.
The NEHA SME will use the following procedures for the key informant interviews to maximize cooperation and achieve the desired participation rates:
The SME contractor will recruit participants via email, phone, or Twitter direct message.
After a participant has agreed to an interview, a reminder letter/e-mail will be sent 1 to 2 days prior to the scheduled data collection.
If the SME identifies additional key informants as referrals, the SME will reach out to the referrals using the abovementioned process to request an interview.
Participants will not be contacted again after the individual key informant interview has concluded.
Given the purpose of conducting the interviews is to discover information that will be helpful in developing an open data standard for environmental health data, the interviews are intended to be semi-structured. We expect to learn and gather useful information by allowing the interviews to proceed organically. The interview instrument was not pilot tested with members of the public, but extensively reviewed by researchers experienced in conducting qualitative data collection tasks.
The individuals consulted on technical and statistical issues related to data collection are listed below. The data will be collected and analyzed by the project contactor, Smarter Civic.
Name |
Title |
Affiliation |
Phone |
|
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT PARTNER |
||||
Sandra Whitehead, PhD |
Director |
Nat’l Env Health Assn |
(303) 756-9090 |
|
OUTSIDE CONSULTANT |
||||
Sarah P. Schacht |
Principal Consultant |
Smarter Civic |
(206) 909-2684 |
|
Attachment 1. Key Informant Interview Plan
Attachment 2. Key Informant Interview Request Letter
Attachment 3. Key Informant Interview Reminder Letter
Attachment 4. NCEH/ATSDR Research Determination Form
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