[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 37 (Friday, February 24, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11124-11125]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4378]



[[Page 11124]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60-Day-12-0222]


Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

    In compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c) (2)(A) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for opportunity for public comment on 
proposed data collection projects, the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects. 
To request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy 
of data collection plans and instruments, call the CDC Reports 
Clearance Officer on 404-639-7570 or send comments to Kimberly Lane, 
CDC Reports Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, MS D-74, Atlanta, GA 
30333 or send an email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a9c6c4cbe9cacdca87cec6df"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="751a1817351611165b121a03">[email protected]</span></a>.
    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 shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 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 or other 
forms of information technology. Written comments should be received 
within 60 days of this notice.

Proposed Project

    Questionnaire Design Research Laboratory (QDRL) 2012-2014, OMB No. 
0920-0222 expiration 3/31/2013)-Revision-National Center for Health 
Statistics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    Section 306 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act (42 U.S.C. 
242k), as amended, authorizes that the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services (DHHS), acting through NCHS, shall undertake and support (by 
grant or contract) research, demonstrations, and evaluations respecting 
new or improved methods for obtaining current data to support 
statistical and epidemiological activities for the purpose of improving 
the effectiveness, efficiency, and quality of health services in the 
United States.
    The Questionnaire Design Research Laboratory (QDRL) conducts 
questionnaire development, pre-testing, and evaluation activities for 
CDC surveys (such as the NCHS National Health Interview Survey, OMB No. 
0920-0214) and other federally sponsored surveys. NCHS is requesting 3 
years of OMB Clearance for this generic submission.
    The QDRL conducts cognitive interviews, focus groups, usability 
tests, field tests/pilot interviews, and experimental research in 
laboratory and field settings, both for applied questionnaire 
development and evaluation as well as more basic research on response 
errors in surveys.
    QDRL Staff use various techniques to evaluate interviewer 
administered, self-administered, telephone, Computer Assisted Personal 
Interviewing (CAPI), Computer Assisted Self-Interviewing (CASI), Audio 
Computer-Assisted Self-Interviewing (ACASI), and web-based 
questionnaires.
    The most common questionnaire evaluation method is the cognitive 
interview. The interview structure consists of respondents first 
answering a draft survey question and then providing textual 
information to reveal the processes involved in answering the test 
question. Specifically, cognitive interview respondents are asked to 
describe how and why they answered the question as they did. Through 
the interviewing process, various types of question-response problems 
that would not normally be identified in a traditional survey 
interview, such as interpretive errors and recall accuracy, are 
uncovered. By conducting a comparative analysis of cognitive 
interviews, it is also possible to determine whether particular 
interpretive patterns occur within particular sub-groups of the 
population. Interviews are generally conducted in small rounds of 20-30 
interviews; ideally, the questionnaire is re-worked between rounds, and 
revisions are tested iteratively until interviews yield relatively few 
new insights.
    In addition to its traditional QDRL activities, NCHS is requesting 
approval for a large field test that will be conducted in 2012. This is 
a 5,000-case test which involves testing the use of ACASI in the full 
National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The ACASI content included in 
the 5,000-case test is consistent with the content studied in two 
smaller approved tests. The module includes questions on sexual 
identity, alcohol consumption, HIV testing, mental health, height and 
weight, sleep, and financial worries. The objective of asking a 
question on sexual identity in the NHIS is to fill the gaps that exist 
in the state of knowledge about the general health behaviors, health 
status, and health care utilization of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and 
Transgender (LGBT) persons.
    The 5,000-case test will include one or more built-in experiments 
to assess the impact of ACASI, and components of ACASI, on prevalence 
estimates and data quality. First and foremost, test cases will be 
randomly assigned to receive the above described questions in either 
CAPI or ACASI. In particular, prevalence estimates for the sexual 
identity questions will be compared by mode of administration. Since a 
documented advantage of ACASI is the enhanced level of privacy it 
affords, we anticipate higher prevalence estimates of sexual minorities 
(Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender persons) from this mode of 
administration. Estimates for sensitive items on mental health, alcohol 
consumption, HIV testing, height and weight, financial worries, and 
others will also be compared.
    Cognitive interviewing is inexpensive and provides useful data on 
questionnaire performance while minimizing respondent burden. Cognitive 
interviewing offers a detailed depiction of meanings and processes used 
by respondents to answer questions--processes that ultimately produce 
the survey data. As such, the method offers an insight that can 
transform understanding of question validity and response error. 
Documented findings from these studies represent tangible evidence of 
how the question performs. Such documentation also serves CDC data 
users, allowing them to be critical users in their approach and 
application of the data.
    Similar methodology has been adopted by other federal agencies, as 
well as by academic and commercial survey organizations. There are no 
costs to respondents other than their time.

[[Page 11125]]



                                             Estimated Burden Table
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       Number of       Average
                     Projects                          Number of     responses per    hours per      Response
                                                      respondents     respondent      response        burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
QDRL Interviews...................................            9000               1           1              9000
Focus groups......................................             300               1           1.5             450
                                                   -------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.........................................  ..............  ..............  ............            9450
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Kimberly Lane,
Reports Clearance Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2012-4378 Filed 2-23-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P


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