# Presentation: 151870

## 2010 Census Planning, Testing, and Development – An Update

**Teresa Angueira**
**Chief, Decennial Management Division**
**Presentation to the**
**SDC/BIDC Steering Committee Meeting**
**February 2003**

## Reengineering the 2010 Census

**Planning, Testing, and Development for a**
**	****Short-form Only Census in 2010**
**American Community Survey (ACS)**
**MAF/TIGER Enhancements Program**

## Overview of 2010 CensusResearch, Testing and Development Program

**2000 Evaluations**
**Consultations**
**Qualitative Research and Cognitive Testing**
**2003 National Census Test**
**2004 Census Test**
**2005 National Content Survey**
**2006 Census Test**
**2008 Dress Rehearsal**

## 2003 National Census Test

**Major Components Of This Test**
- This is a two-part mail-out/mail-back test designed to evaluate:
- Alternative self-response options
- Alternative presentations of the race and Hispanic origin questions

## 2003 National Census Test

**Operational Design Features**
- The 2003 test is a national sample survey of 250,000 addresses selected from housing units enumerated during Census 2000
- The sample of addresses are partitioned into 15 experimental panels plus one control panel
- Eight of the experimental panels are assigned to response option treatments.  Seven of these panels contain 10,000 housing units each, while an eighth panel, contains 20,000 housing units
- Seven of the experimental panels, consisting of 20,000 addresses each, are assigned to the race and Hispanic origin treatments
- A control panel, consisting of 20,000 housing units, is shared by both the response options and race/Hispanic origin parts of the test

## 2003 National Census Test

**Operational Design Features**
- Plan to deliver mailing pieces containing census short form topics to each address in all 16 panels
- Will collect and process census short-form information from addresses in each panel
- There are no plans for any follow-up data collection activity in this test

## 2003 National Census Test

**Operational Design Features of the Response Options Panels**
- The eight experiment and one control panel are designed to measure the impact on response rates of different options and contact strategies
- All of the panels include the same advance letter informing the respondent about the census test
- The other aspects of the contact strategy and response options vary by panel

## 2003 National Census Test

**Key Operational Milestones**
- Federal register notice comments due			08/06/2002
- Final questionnaire content for response options panel	07/09/2002
- Final questionnaire content for race/Hispanic origin panel	08/15/2002
- Authorization to proceed with IVR/Internet contract	08/15/2002
- Award IVR/Internet contract				09/11/2002
- Award printing contract				09/13/2002
- Full system test					12/20/2002
- USPS delivers advance letter				01/22/2003
- USPS delivers initial questionnaire package		01/31/2003
**Census Day****	****	****	****	****	****	****02/06/2003**

## 2003 National Census Test

**Key Operational Milestones**
- USPS delivers reminder postcard			02/08/2003
- USPS delivers replacement questionnaire			02/19/2003
- Complete questionnaire check-in			04/02/2003
- Data capture paper questionnaires			04/08/2003
- Response rate analysis report				04/30/2003
- Response options item nonresponse analysis report	07/16/2003
- Race/Hispanic origin analysis report			08/01/2003
- Response options Census 2000 comparison report		11/24/2003

## 2003 National Census Test

**Key Evaluation Measures We Will Obtain from the Response Options Panels**
- What is the effect of offering alternative data collection modes on response (for example, increase, decrease, shift)?
- What is the effect of new or additional contact strategies on overall response?
- Do any of the alternative panels offer an increased response over the Census 2000 approach?

## 2003 National Census Test

**Key Evaluation Measures We Will Obtain from the Race and Hispanic Origin Panels**
- What is the effect of minimal wording revision of the Hispanic question?
- What is the effect of adding Hispanic and race examples to both Hispanic origin and race questions?
- What is the effect of dropping the “Some other race” response category from the race question?
- What is the effect of adding instructions to clarify that the race and Hispanic origin questions should have different responses, given the drop of the “Some other race” response category?

## Next Steps for Content Development

- 2004 Census Test
- Will be informed by results from 2003 National Census Test
- Will obtain data about responses during personal interviewing in a census field test
- 2005 National Content Test
- Final integrated test of all content for the 2010 Census
- Late in 2006
- Select final content for 2008 Dress Rehearsal, 2008 ACS and 2010 Census

## 2004 Census Test

- Test and evaluate the major methodological and procedural improvements under consideration for the 2010 Census
- Some systems may fail - this ***does not*** constitute a failed test
- The test will show us what we need to develop and how we should move forward

## 2004 Census Test Objectives

**Mobile Computing Device (MCD) for Field Work**
**Coverage Improvement**
**Questionnaire Content**
**Special Place/Group Quarters**

## 2004 Census Test Objectives and Research Questions

**Mobile Computing Device (MCD) for Field Work:**
- _Workflow_--Did the operational design (including data transmission and workflow plan; control measures and systems; quality measures and processes; and file interfaces and security) support the successful implementation of Nonresponse Followup (NRFU) using an MCD system?
- _Usability_--Were the enumerators able to use an MCD system (both Spanish and English language capabilities) to complete their work for NRFU, such as accessing and transmitting their assigned work, using the maps and obtaining accurate GPS coordinates, locating assigned NRFU addresses, and conducting a short form interview (including Spanish language functionality), and what effect did the use of an MCD system have on productivity?

## 2004 Census Test Objectives and Research Questions

**Mobile Computing Device (MCD) for Field Work:**
- _Staffing and Infrastructure_--What was the impact on the field and office staffing levels, position requirements, management ratios, space configuration and training in using an MCD system for data collection activities during NRFU?
- _Data Quality_--What is the effect on data quality of using an MCD system to collect data during NRFU?

## 2004 Census Test Objectives and Research Questions

**Coverage Improvement:**
- _Imputation_--Can we minimize the amount of count imputation resulting from the field data collection activities using automated MCD system capabilities?
- _Coverage Probes/Edits_--How do coverage probes and edits affect within households coverage?
- _Residence Rules and Duplication_--How do respondents react to changes in the presentation of the residence rules?  Do the changes reduce the amount of duplication in the census and help us count people where we should count them?

## 2004 Census Test Objectives and Research Questions

**Coverage Improvement:**
- _MAF Duplication_--Can we reduce duplication during address list updating by using improved record linkage methods when adding potentially new units to the MAF?
- _Housing Unit and Person Duplication_--Can we minimize duplication of housing units and persons in the census by successfully adding a computer-assisted unduplication operation?

## 2004 Census Test Objectives and Research Questions

**Questionnaire Content:**
- What is the effect of the new race and Hispanic origin questions, including the removal of the “Some other race” response option?

## 2004 Census Test Objectives and Research Questions

**Special Place/Group Quarters:**
- Can we implement a set of census operations that in the end will distinguish housing units from group quarters, assign the correct group quarters classifications, collect information about the special place associated with each group quarters, improve the assignment of group quarters to the correct geography, and reduce duplication between group quarters and housing units?

## 2004 Census Test Objectives and Research Questions

- Thank You!