OMB Memo

Generic Information Collection Request:
Cognitive testing for the 2020 Management and Organizational Practices Survey

Request: The Census Bureau plans to conduct additional research under the generic clearance for questionnaire pretesting research (OMB number 0607-0725). The Census Bureau plans to conduct pretesting activities for the 2020 Management and Organizational Practices Survey (MOPS).

The MOPS is a supplement to the Annual Survey of Manufactures (ASM). It is conducted by the Census Bureau every 5 years, pending partial funding by the University of Chicago, MIT, and Stanford University. While the ASM collects detailed information on many inputs used in manufacturing production, the MOPS provides information on the dimensions of organizational capital for sectors 31-33-manufacturing. The MOPS provides information about important components in these production processes (the management and organizational practices) enhancing understanding of business dynamics.

See https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/mops/technical-documentation/methodology.html for additional information.

The MOPS is collected via a self-administered questionnaire using the Census Bureau’s online survey reporting system. Respondents are mailed a letter informing them of the requirement to complete the survey and providing them with access information.

Purpose: The MOPS asks questions about management practices, organization, data and decision-making, and background characteristics.The 2020 MOPS cognitive testing will include new questions related to outsourcing, auditing, and data, decision making and artificial intelligence. See Attachment B for a copy of questions being included in the cognitive evaluation.

The results from the cognitive testing will be recorded and a report produced that outlines the findings of the pretest and recommendations for improvement to the questions.

Population of Interest: Sample members from the 2019 Annual Survey of Manufactures. Businesses should be representative of all sized businesses and cover multiunit manufacturing establishments and large single-unit manufacturing establishments with one or more paid employees.

Timeline: Testing will be conducted from March through May 2020.

Language: Testing will be conducted in English only.

Method: We will conduct two rounds of cognitive interviews with up to 40 respondents total in order to evaluate and refine the new and revised questions for MOPS. Changes to the content may be implemented after each round of testing based on findings. During the interviews, respondents will walk through the proposed survey sections (see Attachments B). We will use probes (see Attachment A) to assess respondents’ understanding of the questions and the flow of the questionnaire.

Telephone interviews will be conducted until it is permissible to conduct in-person interviews. Interviews will be conducted by researchers from the Data Collection Methodology and Research Branch. Staff from the Associate Director for Economic Programs (ADEP), Economy Wide Division (EWD), and the Center for Economic Studies (CES) as well as the principal investigators associated with the sponsoring universities (i.e.,University of Chicago, MIT, and Stanford) may observe if available.

Sample: We plan to conduct a maximum of 40 interviews in two rounds of testing with approximately 20 interviews per round. We will attempt to obtain interviews with businesses that vary in size and complexity. This number of interviews was selected because it is a manageable number of interviews for the time period allotted, it should adequately cover target companies, and should be large enough to provide reactions to the questions in order to identify meaningful findings.

Recruitment: Participants will be recruited using a list of respondents from the 2019 ASM. Once interviews are scheduled, researchers will send participants a confirmation email. Before beginning the interviews, we will inform participants that their response is voluntary and that the information they provide is confidential under Title 13. The interviews may be audio recorded (with consent; see Attachment C), to facilitate summarization.

Protocol: A copy of a draft interview protocol and a draft questionnaire for testing purposes are enclosed. Telephone interviews will be conducted until it is permissible to conduct in-person interviews. Participants will be asked to complete the draft questions (Attachment B). We anticipate all sessions will take 60 minutes to complete, and only one participant will be intereviewed at a time.

Use of incentive: Monetary incentives for participation will not be offered.

Enclosures: All materials have been reviewed and approved for testing. Below is a list of materials to be used in the current study:

Attachment A: Protocol used to outline how the research study will be conducted

Attachment B: Draft questions for evaluation

Attachment C: Consent form

Length of interview: For cognitive interviews, we expect that each interview will last no more than 60 minutes (40 cases x 60 minutes per case = 40 hours). Additionally, to recruit respondents we expect to make up to 5 phone contacts per completed case. The recruiting calls are expected to last on average 3 minutes per call (5 attempts per phone call per completed case x 40 cases x 3 minutes per case = 10 hours). Thus, the estimated burden is 50 hours (40 hours for interviews + 10 hours for recruiting).

Contact: The contact person for questions regarding data collection and statistical aspects of the design of this research is listed below:

Krysten Mesner

Data Collection Methodology and Research Branch

U.S. Census Bureau

Washington, D.C. 20233

(301) 763-9852

Krysten.Mesner@census.gov

cc.:

Nick Orsini (ADEP) with enclosures

Carol Caldwell (ESMD) with enclosures

Xi Jian Liu (ESMD) with enclosures

Diane Willimack (ESMD) with enclosures

Amy Anderson Riemer (ESMD) with enclosures

Jennifer Hunter Childs (ADRM) with enclosures

Jasmine Luck (ADRM) with enclosures

Danielle Norman (PCO) with enclosures

Mary Lenaiyasa (PCO) with enclosures

Kim Moore (EWD) with enclosures

Amanda Rosengarth (EWD) with enclosures

Marlo Thornton (EWD) with enclosures

Lucia Foster (CES) with enclosures

Scott Ohlmacher (CES) with enclosures

Catherine Buffington (ADEP) with enclosures