Advance Letter

National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979
Dear [Respondent Name],
For more than 40 years, the NLSY79 has provided vital information
about the lives of ordinary Americans. Few surveys can match the
NLSY79 in helping us understand who we are as a nation. And for that,
we thank you.
Your continued participation in this study has impacted how our country
understands important economic, educational, and labor market issues.
And as you near retirement age and potentially leave the paid labor
force, the NLSY79 will permit researchers to study key questions about
retirement and the causes and consequences of age-related health
issues.
We follow the federal laws that govern the confidentiality of survey
respondents, as well as additional policies and procedures that ensure
your answers are safeguarded. Please see the back of this letter for
more information about privacy and confidentiality.
The average interview lasts about 74 minutes and you can schedule
your appointment online as well as get extra cash with our Early Bird
program! (See enclosed card for details.) To receive your gift faster,
we offer electronic payment options through online or mobile banking
and PayPal.
We appreciate your time and willingness to thoughtfully answer our
questions. Few people have the opportunity to make such a lasting
contribution. Thank You!

Be the voice of your generation!

The NLSY79 survey has been
discussed in numerous places,
such as:

MEDIA
TIME
The Washington Post
The Wall Street Journal
The New York Times
Chicago Tribune
Los Angeles Times
Forbes
and more!

RESEARCH
Journal Articles
Theses
Ph.D. Dissertations
Conference Presentations
Over 7,000 research citations
listed at nlsbibliography.org!

Sincerely,
Keenan Dworak-Fisher
Director, National Longitudinal Surveys
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

NLSY79

Web: NLSY79.NORC.ORG | Email: NLSY79@NORC.ORG | Phone: 877-853-5908 | Text: 312-835-1905 with your full name

A special note to all our NLSY79 respondents: The COVID-19 virus is impacting people’s lives in many
ways, and it is challenging to focus on anything else. We understand that, like most Americans, you are worried
about your loved ones, your health and your financial security. In difficult times, such as what our country now
faces, your continued participation in the National Longitudinal Surveys is vital both for informing immediate
public policies and for understanding the important long-term effects on the nation’s general well-being.
The NLSY79 is fortunate to have moved to a telephone survey well in advance of the current CDC
recommendations for social distancing, so you can expect to hear from us in safe and secure ways including
mailings, calls, emails and texts. Your health and safety are most important to us!
WHY IS THIS STUDY IMPORTANT? Thanks to your help, policymakers and researchers will have a better
understanding of the work experiences, family characteristics, health, financial status, and other important information
about the lives of people in your generation. This is a voluntary study, and there are no penalties for not answering
questions. However, missing responses make it more difficult to understand the issues that concern people in your
community and across the country. Your answers represent the experiences of hundreds of other people your age.
We hope we can count on your participation again this year.
WHO AUTHORIZES THIS STUDY? The sponsor of the study is the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor
Statistics. The study is authorized under Title 29, Section 2, of the United States Code. The Center for Human
Resource Research at The Ohio State University and NORC at the University of Chicago conduct this study under
a contract with the Department of Labor. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the
questionnaire and has assigned 1220-0109 as the study’s control number. This control number expires on ##/##/20##.
Without OMB approval and this number, we would not be able to conduct this study.
WHO SEES MY ANSWERS? We want to reassure you that your confidentiality is protected by law. In accordance
with the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act, the Privacy Act, and other applicable Federal
laws, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, its employees and agents, will, to the full extent permitted by law, use the
information you provide for statistical purposes only, will hold your responses in confidence, and will not disclose them
in identifiable form without your informed consent. All the employees who work on the survey at the Bureau of Labor
Statistics and its contractors must sign a document agreeing to protect the confidentiality of your data. In fact, only a
few people have access to information about your identity because they need that information to carry out their job
duties.
Some of your answers will be made available to researchers at the Bureau of Labor Statistics and other government
agencies, universities, and private research organizations through publicly available data files. These publicly available
files contain no personal identifiers, such as names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and places of work, and
exclude any information about the States, counties, metropolitan areas, and other, more detailed geographic locations in
which survey participants live, making it much more difficult to figure out the identities of participants. Some researchers
are granted special access to data files that include geographic information, but only after those researchers go
through a thorough application process at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those authorized researchers must sign
a written agreement making them official agents of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and requiring them to protect the
confidentiality of survey participants. Those researchers are never provided with the personal identities of participants.
The National Archives and Records Administration and the General Services Administration may receive copies of
survey data and materials because those agencies are responsible for storing the Nation’s historical documents.
HOW MUCH TIME WILL THE INTERVIEW TAKE? Based on preliminary tests, we expect the average interview to
take about 74 minutes. Your interview may be somewhat shorter or longer depending on your circumstances. If you
have any comments regarding this study or recommendations for reducing its length, send them to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, National Longitudinal Surveys, 2 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Washington, DC 20212.
WHERE CAN I FIND MORE INFORMATION? To learn more about the survey, visit www.bls.gov/nls. To search for
articles, reports, and other research based on the National Longitudinal Surveys, visit www.nlsbibliography.org.