1 CEV Questionnaire

September 2023

CPS Civic Engagement and Volunteering Supplement

Items Booklet

September 2023 CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND

VOLUNTEERING SUPPLEMENT TO THE CURRENT

POPULATION SURVEY

These questions will be used to create official government statistics that will allow scholars, government officials and policymakers to promote increased citizen activity in those places that need it. They will provide information on the extent to which people are active in their communities, such as communicating with one another on issues of public concern, and interacting with public institutions and private companies.

This month, we are interested in Volunteering and Civic activities, that is how people in America interact with and relate to each other, as well as how we work together to make changes in our communities and country.

[ASK OF EMPLOYED SELF-RESPONDENTS ONLY]

WP1a. Now I'm going to read you a list of statements that might or might not describe your main job. Please tell me whether you [strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree] with each of these statements. 

I am proud to be working for my employer.

[READ ALL RESPONSE OPTIONS]

(1) Strongly agree

(2) Agree

(3) Disagree

(4) Strongly disagree

[ASK OF EMPLOYED SELF-RESPONDENTS ONLY]

WP1b. Now I'm going to read you a list of statements that might or might not describe your main job. Please tell me whether you [strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree] with each of these statements. 

My workplace contributes to the community.

[READ RESPONSE OPTIONS AS NEEDED]

(1) Strongly agree

(2) Agree

(3) Disagree

(4) Strongly disagree

[ASK OF EMPLOYED SELF-RESPONDENTS ONLY]

WP1c. Now I'm going to read you a list of statements that might or might not describe your main job. Please tell me whether you [strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree] with each of these statements. 

My main satisfaction in life comes from work.

[READ RESPONSE OPTIONS AS NEEDED]

(1) Strongly agree

(2) Agree

(3) Disagree

(4) Strongly disagree

[ASK OF EMPLOYED SELF-RESPONDENTS ONLY]
WP1d. Now I'm going to read you a list of statements that might or might not describe your main job. Please tell me whether you [strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree] with each of these statements. 

I contribute to the community through my work.

[READ RESPONSE OPTIONS AS NEEDED]

(1) Strongly agree

(2) Agree

(3) Disagree

(4) Strongly disagree

[ASK OF EMPLOYED RESPONDENTS ONLY]

WP2. In the past 12 months, has your workplace or employer asked or encouraged employees to volunteer or contribute to a specific cause, for example by participating in an employer-sponsored volunteering day, providing pro bono services, or donating to a charity?

(1) Yes

(2) No

1. The next few questions focus on how you interact with family and friends in person, over the phone, or through the internet or social media.

In the past 12 months, that is from September of [FILL PREVIOUS YEAR] until today, how often did you talk to or spend time with friends and family?

[READ ALL RESPONSE OPTIONS]

(1) Basically every day

(2) A few times a week

(3) A few times a month

(4) Once a month

(5) Less than once a month

(6) Not at all

2. [In the past 12 months,] how often did you discuss political, societal, or local issues with friends or family?

[READ RESPONSE OPTIONS AS NEEDED]

(1) Basically every day

(2) A few times a week

(3) A few times a month

(4) Once a month

(5) Less than once a month

(6) Not at all

This next set of questions focuses on how you interact with your neighbors in person, over the phone, or through the internet or social media.

4. In the past 12 months, how often did you have a conversation or spend time with your neighbors?

[READ RESPONSE OPTIONS AS NEEDED]

(1) Basically every day

(2) A few times a week

(3) A few times a month

(4) Once a month

(5) Less than once a month

(6) Not at all

5. [In the past 12 months,] how often did you discuss political, societal, or local issues with your neighbors?

[READ RESPONSE OPTIONS AS NEEDED]

(1) Basically every day

(2) A few times a week

(3) A few times a month

(4) Once a month

(5) Less than once a month

(6) Not at all

6. [In the past 12 months,] how often did you and your neighbors do favors for each other such as house sitting, watching each other’s children, lending tools, and other things to help each other.

[READ RESPONSE OPTIONS AS NEEDED]

(1) Basically every day

(2) A few times a week

(3) A few times a month

(4) Once a month

(5) Less than once a month

(6) Not at all

7. [In the past 12 months,] did you get together with other people from your neighborhood to do something positive for your neighborhood or the community?

(1) Yes

(2) No

9. [In the past 12 months,] how often did you post your views about political, societal, or local issues on the internet or social media?

[READ RESPONSE OPTIONS AS NEEDED]

(1) Basically every day

(2) A few times a week

(3) A few times a month

(4) Once a month

(5) Less than once a month

(6) Not at all

10. [In the past 12 months,] how often did you read, watch or listen to news or information about political, societal, or local issues?

[READ RESPONSE OPTIONS AS NEEDED]

(1) Basically every day

(2) A few times a week

(3) A few times a month

(4) Once a month

(5) Less than once a month

(6) Not at all

11. [In the past 12 months,] did you vote in the last local elections, such as for mayor or school board?

(1) Yes

(2) No

12. [In the past 12 months,] did you attend a public meeting, such as a zoning or school board meeting, to discuss a local issue?

(1) Yes

(2) No

13. [In the past 12 months,] did you contact or visit a public official – at any level of government – to express your opinion?

(1) Yes

(2) No

14. [In the past 12 months,] did you buy or boycott a product based on a company's political values or business practices?

(1) Yes

(2) No

This next set of questions focuses on local and national groups, organizations and associations that you may belong to. Examples include community groups; civic or service organizations; religious or spiritual communities; recreational groups; and political or advocacy groups.

Participation in these groups could be in-person, online, or both.

15. In the past 12 months, did you belong to any groups, organizations, or associations?

(1) Yes

(2) No [SKIP to Q16]

15a. How many groups, organizations, or associations would you say you have belonged to over the past 12 months?

_________________ Number of groups / organizations / associations

16. In the past 12 months, did you spend any time volunteering for any organization or association?

(1) Yes [SKIP TO Q16D]

(2) No

16a Some people don’t think of activities they do infrequently or for children’s schools or youth organizations as volunteer activities. In the past 12 months (have you/has she/has he) done any of these types of activities?

(1) Yes

(2) No [SKIP TO Q17]

16d. How often did you volunteer?

[READ ALL RESPONSE OPTIONS]

(1) Basically every day

(2) A few times a week

(3) A few times a month

(4) Once a month

(5) Less than once a month

(6) Not at all [SKIP TO Q17]

16e. In the past 12 months, approximately how many hours did you volunteer?

_____________ Hours

16f. Thinking about the organization or association with which [you/NAME] most actively volunteer, which best describes the proportion of [your/his/her] in-person volunteering to online volunteering?

[READ ALL RESPONSE OPTIONS]

(1) All volunteering is in person

(2) Volunteering is more in-person than online

(3) Volunteering is evenly split between in-person and online

(4) Volunteering is more online than in-person

(5) All volunteering is online

17. [In the past 12 months,] did you give money or possessions with a combined value of more than $25 t o a political organization, party, or campaign?

(1) Yes

(2) No

18. [In the past 12 months,] did you give money or possessions with a combined value of more than $25 to a non-political group or organization, such as a charity, school, or religious organization?

(1) Yes

(2) No

[IF THERE ARE ADDITIONAL RESPONDENTS IN THE HOUSEHOLD GO TO THE NEXT PAGE]

[IF THERE ARE NO ADDITIONAL RESPONDENTS IN THE HOUSEHOLD] That brings us to the end of the survey. Thank you for participating in this survey.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS TO BE CLEARED

Note: An overarching theme of public comments was the desire to reinstate questions that AmeriCorps cut from the CEV in 2019 due to Census concerns about response rates and respondent burden – concerns that escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Expert stakeholders we consulted also suggested adding new questions about protest participation and religiosity. In 2022, the Census introduced a new supplement policy requiring that 90% of completed supplement interviews last less than 10 minutes, which means that the supplement must be designed to average no more than 5-7 minutes per household. Since the average CEV administration time is currently 6.67 minutes, we are not able to add questions that would substantially increase the length of the CEV at this time. We request, however, that the questions below be cleared in the event that Census recommendations change and resources allow questions to be added to the CEV in future rounds of data collection.

8. In the past 12 months, how often did you talk to or spend time with people from a racial, ethnic or cultural background that is different than yours? This may have been in person, over the phone, or through the internet or social media.

[READ RESPONSE OPTIONS AS NEEDED]

(1) Basically every day

(2) A few times a week

(3) A few times a month

(4) Once a month

(5) Less than once a month

(6) Not at all

8a. [In the past 12 months,] how often did you talk to or spend time with people from an economic background that is different than yours? This may have been in person, over the phone, or through the internet or social media.

[READ RESPONSE OPTIONS AS NEEDED]

(1) Basically every day

(2) A few times a week

(3) A few times a month

(4) Once a month

(5) Less than once a month

(6) Not at all

16b. For each organization that I mention, please tell me – yes or no – whether you volunteered for this type of organization [in the past 12 months]. In the past 12 months, did you volunteer for a(n):

[READ ALL RESPONSE OPTIONS]

(1) Civic, political, professional or international [organization]

(2) Educational or youth service [organization]

(3) Environmental or animal care [organization]

(4) Hospital or other health [organization]

(5) Public safety [organization]

(6) Religious [organization]

(7) Social or community service [organization]

(8) Sport, hobby, cultural, or arts [organization]

(9) Climate change [organization]

(10) Other [organization]

16c. For each activity that I mention, please tell me – yes or no – whether you did that activity for an organization [in the past 12 months]. In the past 12 months, did you:

[READ ALL RESPONSE OPTIONS]

(1) Coach, referee, or supervise sports teams

(2) Tutor or teach

(3) Mentor youth

(4) Serve as an usher, greeter, or minister

(5) Collect, prepare, distribute, or serve food

(6) Collect, make, or distribute clothing, crafts, or goods other than food

(7) Fundraise or sell items to raise money

(8) Provide counseling, medical care, fire/EMS, or protective services

(9) Provide general office services

(10) Provide professional or management assistance including serving on a board or committee

(11) Engage in music, performance, or other artistic activities

(12) Engage in general labor or supply transportation for people

(13) Other

In the past 12 months, have you joined in a protest march, rally, or demonstration?

(1) Yes

(2) No

What is your religious preference? Are you …

[READ ALL RESPONSE OPTIONS]

(1) Protestant

(2) Roman Catholic

(3) Mormon

(4) Jewish

(5) Muslim

(6) Another religion

(7) No religion

How often do you attend a place of worship or religious service?

[READ ALL RESPONSE OPTIONS]

(1) At least once a week

(2) Almost every week

(3) About once a month

(4) Seldom

(5) Never

Have you attended a place of worship or religious service within the last seven days?

(1) Yes

(2) No