[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 31 (Friday, February 14, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6946-6947]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-3679]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of the Census


1997 National Survey; Proposed Collection

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on 
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the 
paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506 
(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before April 15, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Linda Engelmeier, 
Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 
5327, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument(s) should be directed 
to Cleo R. Jenkins, collection instrument(s) should be directed to Cleo 
R. Jenkins, Bureau of the Census, Room 3125-4, Washington, DC 20233-
9150, (301) 457-4994.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The 1997 National Survey is part of the Census Bureau's continuing 
effort to design Census 2000 mailing packages that are respondent 
friendly, machine imageable, and cost efficient. Short form mailing 
packages are sent to the vast majority of the population. These 
packages request basic information, such as name, sex, date of birth, 
Hispanic origin, the race of all the household members, and the owner/
renter status of the address. Long form mailing packages are sent to 
only a portion of the population. These packages request additional 
information over the short form packages, such as information on 
education, work, disabilities, and housing characteristics. As a result 
of time constraints, major features of the 1998 Dress Rehearsal mailing 
packages have been identified and decided upon. The dress rehearsal 
short form will be a one-page rollfold with icons and messages in 
reverse print (white text on black background). The long form will be a 
32-page booklet with a household roster, and with icons and messages in 
reverse print. The accompanying envelope will have a reverse-print logo 
in the upper left-hand corner and the mandatory message with a seal 
outlined in gold to the left of the address window. Although these 
mailing packages have been identified as best given the latest 
research, it is also true that this research is lacking and that 
important, unanswered questions remain about these designs. Therefore, 
the 1997 National Survey has been designed to determine the effects of 
the following:
    1. Icons and benefit messages on both the short and long forms. 
Simple icons with short motivating messages in reverse print have been 
developed for use in the upper corners of the questionnaires. The icons 
and messages are intended to make respondents feel good about the 
census at the very least and encourage response at the best. Although 
these icons and messages tested relatively well in small-scale, in-
house cognitive tests and in targeted focus groups in select cities, we 
need to ensure that this is true at the national level, especially 
since literature regarding the use of icons with messages in surveys is 
non-existent. This survey is designed to determine if icons and 
messages affect response rates or item non-response rates.
    2. Alternative form structures on the short form. The forms tested 
since 1990 have been composed of 17''  x  11'' sheets of paper stapled 
together to form 8.5''  x  11'' page booklets. The newly designed short 
form is composed of one folded 22''  x  11'' sheet of paper, which is 
called a rollfold. Although cognitive research suggests that 
respondents will be more likely to correctly operate a booklet than a 
rollfold, booklets are also more expensive to process than rollfolds. 
Therefore, a test of these trade-offs is needed. This survey is 
designed to determine if alternative form structures affect response 
rates or the consistency between the household question and data-
defined persons.
    3. A ``household count'' question versus a household roster on the 
long form. The results of the National Content Survey showed that a 
household roster on the short form does not improve household coverage 
over a form that contains a ``household count'' question. However, no 
testing of a rostered vs. a no-roster form was conducted with the long 
form. Although the decision has been made to use a rostered long form 
for the 1998 Dress Rehearsal, questions about whether it will improve 
coverage or not remain. This survey is designed to compare the item 
non-response rates between the roster vs. the ``household count'' 
question, the consistency in data between the two, and the differences 
in average household size for the two forms.
    4. A comparison with past tests on the short form. In light of the 
dramatic changes that are being incorporated into the 1998 Dress 
Rehearsal short form mailing package (i.e., new one-sheet format, one-
column panels, type of fold, color, and envelope design), it is 
important that we maintain a benchmark to determine whether the 
collective effect of these changes continues to move us forward on both 
response rate and item nonresponse. Therefore, we propose to include 
the highest performing short form mailing package we have tested to 
date (Form 1G from the National Content Survey).

[[Page 6947]]

    5. Alternative envelope designs on the short form. We have made 
some changes in the design of the envelope subsequent to a mailout test 
(the Appeals and Long Form Experiment) conducted in 1993, in which we 
learned that a box on the outgoing envelope stating that response is 
required by law results in an increase of about 10 percentage points in 
mail response. Although respondents in cognitive interviews and focus 
groups like the new envelope, it needs to be tested against a known 
response enhancer, to make sure that the new design does not negatively 
affect response rates.
    The 1997 National Survey is designed to compare the performance of 
five short form mailing packages: (1) the dress rehearsal mailing 
package (a one-page rollfold with icons and logo envelope) will serve 
as the control; (2) the dress rehearsal mailing package without icons; 
(3) the dress rehearsal mailing package as a booklet; (4) a slightly 
modified version of Form DS-1G from the National Content Survey along 
with the original government envelope; and (5) the dress rehearsal form 
and original government envelope. The 1997 National Survey will also 
compare the performance of three long forms: (1) The dress rehearsal 
form (a 32-page booklet with a household roster and icons) will serve 
as the control; (2) the dress rehearsal form without roster; and (3) 
the dress rehearsal form without icons.

II. Method of Collection

    The 1997 National Survey will be a one time mailout/mailback test, 
consisting of the following independent mailing pieces: a pre-notice 
letter, a test questionnaire with postage-paid return envelope, a 
reminder card, and a replacement questionnaire. There will be no 
telephone or enumeration follow-up.

III. Data

    OMB Number: Not available.
    Form Numbers: Short form: DV-1A, DV-1B, DV-1C, DV-1D, DV-1E Long 
form: DV-2A, DV-2B, DV-2C.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: There will be a total of 8 panels, 
each containing 5,000 respondents. Five panels will receive the short 
form. Three panels will receive the long form.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 10 minutes/short form, 38 minutes/long 
form.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 13,667 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $650,000.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Sections 141 and 193.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a.) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (b.) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c.) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected, and (d.) ways to minimize the burden of 
the collection of information on respondents, including through the use 
of automated collection techniques of other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

    Dated: February 10, 1997.
Linda Engelmeier,
Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office of Management and 
Organization.
[FR Doc. 97-3679 Filed 2-13-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3501-07-P