Redesign Options for the Consumer Expenditure Survey

Nancy Mathiowetz

Kristen Olson

Courtney Kennedy

Prepared for:

National Academy of Sciences 

NAS Solicitation Number DBASSE-004950-0001-031411

October, 2011
Nancy Mathiowetz is Professor, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Kristen Olson is 

Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Courtney Kennedy is Vice 

President, Abt/SRBI.

The authors wish to acknowledge research and technical assistance provided by Caitlin 

Hawley, Atiera Coleman, John Flanders, John Coutley, and Heather Lynn Durant 

(University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) and Jennie Lai, Lorelle Vanno, and Justin Bailey 

(The Nielsen Company) and Paul Kizakevich, (Research Triangle Institute) for their 

generosity in discussing the use of technology in their respective organizations’ data 

collection efforts. 

The opinions expressed in this document are the responsibility of the authors.
1 

I. Introduction

The Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) is not a single survey but rather 

an estimation program based on two distinct data collection efforts, the Quarterly 

Consumer Expenditures Interview (CEI) and the Consumer Expenditure Diary 

(CED), each with its own separate sample. In both the CEI and the CED one 

household member often serves as the respondent/recorder of information. CEI 

sampled household units are interviewed once per quarter for five consecutive 

quarters; the respondent is asked to report retrospectively on consumer unit 

expenditures for the past three months (for interviews two through five). The 

initial interview collects demographic and family characteristics, an inventory of 

major durable goods, and expenditures for the past month, all information to be 

used as bounding data for future interviews. The CED is a product-oriented, 

prospectively-placed diary with two one-week daily expense records serving as 

the primary means of capturing detailed descriptions of expenses for all 

members of the household. Estimation of total consumptions is based on an 

integrated approach drawing upon data from each of the two components (see 

Appendix C, Survey Source of Data for Integrated Tables, 2007; BLS, 2007 for 

detailed information as to the data source for specific consumer expenditures).

1

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has undertaken a major redesign of 

the CE surveys. As part of this multi-year process, BLS has contracted with the 

National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) to 

review and recommend design options for the CE. The recommended redesign 

is intended to address (a) underreporting of expenditures in the household 

surveys; (b) changes in the survey environment – both the environment of 

consumer purchasing and the data collection environment; and (c) the need for 

increased flexibility in approaches to data collection. 

 

1 We note that there are redundancies in the interview and diary data collection instruments with 

respect to consumer expenditure items as well as for demographic information resulting in 

additional unnecessary burden, when viewed from the perspective of total burden across all 

respondents. 
2 

A. Understanding the Problem

Measurement Error

Comparisons between estimates based on CE and the Personal 

Consumption Expenditures (PCE) data from the National Accounts suggest 

deterioration in the quality of the CE data, especially over the past decade (e.g., 

Slesnick 2001).

2

Another factor that may be contributing to the disparity is nonresponse 

error. The period of increasing discrepancies between the CE and the PCE 

estimates has also been a period of fluctuating response rates (Goldenberg, 

McGrath and Tan 2009; Safir 2011). More important than the nonresponse rate 

is the strength of associations between response propensity and the 

expenditures being measured. For example, Abraham, Presser, and Helms 

(2009) suggest that nonresponse bias has led to inflated estimates of 

volunteerism in the U.S. because survey respondents report much more 

volunteering than nonrespondents. It is plausible that a similar dynamic may be 

undermining CE expenditure reports. Although an assessment of nonresponse 

bias in the CE interview concluded that there was little evidence of significant 

nonresponse bias, that study did find differential participation as a function of

race, income and dwelling unit characteristics as well as evidence of 

nonresponse bias for particular expenditure categories but not for total 

expenditures (Chopova et al. 2008). However, in none of the assessments were 

actual expenditures in relevant categories from Wave 1 nonrespondents 

obtained, and as such, no direct evaluation of nonresponse bias was conducted. 

The source of this increasing disparity between the two data 

sources is often attributed to measurement error. For example, persons 

interviewed by telephone for the CEI have higher family income, but have similar 

levels of expenditures as those interviewed in person (Safir and Goldenberg 

2008; McGrath 2005) suggesting differential underreporting as a function of 

mode. In the CED, empirical data indicate declines in reports of expenditures 

across the reporting period (Silberstein and Scott 1991). 

 

2 Similar to Slesnick (2001) one has to also question the extent to which the external data used to 

benchmark CE data accurately represent consumer expenditures. 
3 

Because of this important limitation to these nonresponse bias studies, we 

hypothesize that some of the differences between the CE and the PCE may be 

due to differential participation and/or diary compliance. Designs that are most 

effective for future consideration, therefore, may be those that simultaneously 

attempt to reduce both measurement error and nonresponse error.3

Both the interview and diary data collection efforts are burdensome; the 

interview with respect to the cognitive burden of retrospective recall for three 

month reference periods,

 

4

Technology may also facilitate the collection of information from multiple 

members of the household. Empirical evidence suggests that reducing reliance 

on a single consumer unit reporter for the diary may improve reports of 

expenditures. Grootaert (1986) found that expenditures, especially for personal 

items such as clothing, footwear, and services, were significantly higher in 

households assigned to a multiple diary treatment. Similarly, a field study 

conducted by BLS in 2006 (Edgar et al. 2006) found that the use of multiple 

diaries per consumer unit resulted in an increase number of expenditure items 

reported as well as an increased dollar value of the expenditures.

the diary with respect to the sheer recording burden 

for a diary that may ill-fit the consumption patterns of most individuals in the 21st

Century. To the extent that technology (alone or in conjunction with record 

keeping) can be leveraged so as to maximize the capture of consumer 

expenditures in real time or via a diary method – while also reducing burden in 

the sense of extremely long interviews or onerous recording of detailed 

expenditures – one would anticipate an improvement in data quality. 

5

 

3 Olson (2011) notes the following: As another error sensitive indicator, we examined various 

proxies for measurement error. These measurement error indicators were more strongly 

associated with participation propensities than expenditure categories. Thus, we recommend that 

BLS target resources to improve the measurement error properties of those with low participation 

propensities. Since many of these strategies have beneficial influences on both nonresponse 

and measurement error....targeting resources based on measurement error may also improve 

participation propensities. 

 

4 The effect of the length of recall period on errors of omission is well documented in survey 

methodology literature. See, for example, the summary provided in Bound, Brown, and 

Mathiowetz (2001). 

5

The experimental study had a lower response rate than the production data and completed 

interviews required more trips on the part of field interviewers as compared to the production 

cases. In addition, the CED experimental study also yielded comments from some CU members 
4 

 

Changes in the Survey Environment

Survey designs are rapidly moving to integrate technology for purposes of 

improved data quality and reduced respondent burden. We see examples of 

smartphone data collection across a diverse set of measures: dietary intake 

(Martin et al. 2009); monitoring of food purchases for allergies via the use of 

smartphones with barcode readers (Arens et al. 2008); consumption at the 

moment of the purchase (Hosoe 2005); recreational saltwater fishing catch 

(Baker and Oeschger 2009); energy expenditures via embedded accelerometers 

(Lau et al. 2010); remote health care monitoring (Jea et al. 2008); Portable 

People Meters for the passive capture of radio program listening (Patchen and 

Webb 2002); and smart pill bottles to monitor prescription medicine compliance 

(Becker et al. 2009). The U.S. sample of the Homescan project utilizes a 

Universal Product Code scanner which facilitates electronic capture and 

transmission of consumer data on an on-going basis (Link 2010). 

Concurrent with the changing data collection landscape, the environment 

for consumers has radically changed in the last 25 years. The increasing use of 

e-commerce6

 A wide array of technological tools and methodological innovations can be 

brought to bear on a redesign of the CE surveys. Technology may reduce 

underreporting while also reducing burden, facilitating longer retention as diarists 

and/or integrating the CED and CEI components within a single data collection, 

an approach used for the United Kingdom’s Family Expenditure Survey (Battisin

and the proliferation of “big box” stores have significantly impacted 

purchasing behavior. Product-based diaries seem antiquated when the box that 

arrives from Amazon.com or the shopping bags brought home from Sam’s Club 

include products ranging from food to computers. 

 

that they felt the individual diaries were redundant and unnecessary since the unit makes 

purchases collectively.

6 The Wall Street Journal estimates that e-commerce accounted for approximately 7% of U.S. 

shopping in 2010, excluding auto, travel and prescription drugs, with an annual growth rate of 

approximately 11%. 
5 

2003).

7

Flexible Mode of Data Collection

Ecological validity is achieved in surveys when questions and response 

options are sufficiently flexible so as to be asked and answered in a manner that 

resonates with the respondent and his or her situation (Schaeffer 1991). The 

same logic can also be applied to the overall design of a data collection effort –

the goal is to provide sufficient flexibility so as to achieve ecological validity. This 

approach has not received extensive treatment in the methodological literature, 

except for responsive survey designs (Groves and Heeringa 2006), most often 

implemented to control errors arising from nonresponse. We applaud BLS’s 

initiative to move forward in consideration of flexible survey designs for the CE; 

clearly the nature of the task differs across different consumer unit compositions. 

Consumer units structured so as to have a central expenditure gatekeeper may 

require a very different approach to data collection than households with three 

adolescents and parents who each maintain their own credit cards and checking 

accounts. Thorough understanding of how various consumer units comply with 

the data collection requirements for the CEI and CED will be key to the 

development of alternative (flexible) data collection methodologies. 

 

B. Approach to CE Redesign

In the sections that follow, we outline our approach to the redesign of the 

Consumer Expenditure Survey. In making our recommendation, we attempt to 

address some of the key features of interest to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. To 

the extent possible, our recommendations draw from empirical literature or 

current experience and attempt to extrapolate to a design that would be viable in 

the future—thinking along a time frame beginning five or more years from 2011. 

We have attempted to ground our recommendations in theoretical and empirical 

literatures from a broad spectrum of disciplines that encompass data collection, 

 

7 There is some evidence that the integrated approach to the collection of consumer expenditures 

leads to aggregated values that more closely align with national accounts estimates than designs 

which involve separate samples for the interview and diary portions of the expenditure data 

collection (Banks and Johnson 1998).
6 

(e.g., epidemiology, economics, sociology, political science); however, since 

much of the peer-reviewed literature lags significantly behind innovation, some of 

our recommendations are based on personal communications with respect to 

current applications and field operations incorporating technology, others are 

speculative in nature, based on our assessment of innovations currently being 

tested and the direction of technology in the near future. 

As outlined in our technical proposal, we have attempted to design a 

consumer expenditure survey that is prospective, flexible, and technological, 

while still maintaining a probability sample of the population. 

The report is outlined as follows: 

• Section II provides a broad overview of the design 

recommendations; 

• Section III provides details of the design incorporating research that 

supports the recommendations; 

• Section IV outlines methodological research to support the 

recommended redesign;

• In light of our concern that the CE redesign address both 

measurement and nonresponse as sources of error that contribute 

to discrepancies between CE data and benchmarks, Section V 

discusses design features that are targeted at reducing 

nonresponse rates and potentially nonresponse error; 

• Section VI discusses issues related to costs; and 

• Section VII in which we discuss a broader range of alternatives for 

NAS and CE to consider. 
7 

II. Summary of Recommended Design Features

A. Introduction

The challenges facing the Consumer Expenditure (CE) survey are 

numerous but not dissimilar to other large complex data collection efforts. These 

challenges include, but are certainly not limited to, pressures from a diverse set 

of data users for timely, detailed, and integrated data, response rates that 

continue to decline even for the most prestigious Federal data collection efforts, 

and increasing diversity with respect to both the products and services available 

to consumers as well as how and where those services and products are 

acquired. In a rapidly changing environment, that is, both the environment 

related to data collection as well as the consumer environment, how best to 

position the CE for the future?

We see our task not as one of suggesting tweaks to the questionnaire or 

modest recommendations; several panels have been convened in the past to 

offer recommendations along those lines (e.g., Mathiowetz 1987; Edgar 2011). 

Rather we view our task as the opportunity to step back, assess the data 

collection as well as consumer environment of the future, and offer a design that 

approaches the CE from a fresh perspective, one that harnesses technology so 

as to improve both participation and the quality of data and which provides 

flexibility in the approach to measurement, reflective of the trend in survey 

methodology for responsive and/or flexible approaches to design. 

This section provides an overview of our recommended design for the CE. 

Subsequent chapters provide the theoretical and empirical support for our 

recommendations as well as suggestions for methodological research for those 

design recommendations for which the current literature provides little or 

conflicting data. 

 
8 

B. Design Recommendations 

Sample Design

One of the clear requests from the CPI and outside data users is the 

desire of a single sample that integrates diary and retrospective reports of 

expenditures for consumer units (Edgar 2005; Henderson et al. 2011). We 

recommend moving to such a design, similar to the sample designs currently 

implemented in the United Kingdom and Canada (Horsfield 2010; Tremblay, 

Lynch and Dubreuil 2011). To meet the challenges of minimizing respondent 

burden while also providing data users with the ability to examine change within 

consumer units, we are recommending two components of the single-sample 

design: (a) a cross-sectional component, for which a CU would participate for a 

single month; and (b) a panel component, for which a CU would participate three 

times as a diarist – in month 1, month 7, and month 13— providing a longitudinal 

evaluation of spending while reducing burden across the full sample. 

The design represents a radical departure from the current approach to 

collecting consumer expenditure data in several ways. First, the design 

minimizes reliance on retrospective recall. As is outlined below, the only 

expenditure items for which the respondent is asked to rely on retrospective 

recall are global questions and large expenditure items. Second, the reporting 

task is the same for the cross sectional and longitudinal components –

specifically, maintaining a diary for a one month period. No one CU would 

provide data for a full quarter nor consecutively for a full year; yet the panel 

component facilitates within-CU change with the proposed design to examine 

change within an entire month (two more weeks than the current diary design 

permits), change for the CU from that month and six months from the initial 

month, and a comparison of expenditures for that initial month in year t and year 

t+1. 

Moving to a single, integrated design provides flexibility in index 

construction for the CPI (Casey 2010), offers microdata users the advantage of 

accessing a single data source for the best estimate of expenditures, and 
9 

reduces redundancies that currently exist in the Consumer Expenditure Quarterly 

and Diary Surveys (CEI and CED). The challenges for such a design include 

addressing perceptions of and actual respondent burden for the individual 

sampled consumer units and shifting approaches to quarterly and annual 

estimation.

Questionnaire

Regardless of whether a CU was a sampled for the cross sectional 

component or the panel component, the data collection would involve the 

following:

• An initial face to face interview, in which basic demographic and 

socioeconomic information would be collected about the CU, including the 

administration of global questions concerning expenditures and income in 

the past year, itemization of items paid on a monthly basis (e.g., utilities) 

and automatic payments8

• Thirty day collection period in which CU members would record all 

purchases, expenditures, and payments made during that time; 

and respondent training;

• Use of technology-based or paper-based memory triggers for capturing 

expenditures in real time; and

• A face to face wrap up interview, during which the interviewer would verify 

expenditures, record additional expenditures or receipts for which the CU 

did not or could not record during the reference period (including those 

that may not have been captured in the diary due to automatic payments), 

and retrieve the technological devices used for data capture.

For CUs that comprise the panel component, we recommend a face to 

face interview prior to the resumption of serving as a diarist that would involve an 

update of demographic, socioeconomic, and consumer unit information and 

remind respondents on how to use the technology for data capture.

 

8 Note that we are not recommending the collection of the expenditure amount in this first 

interview. 
10 

 

Proactive and Flexible Data Collection

According to the original request for proposals issued by the National 

Academy of Sciences, the recommended redesign is intended to address (a) 

underreporting of expenditures in the household surveys; (b) changes in the 

survey environment – both the environment of consumer purchasing and the 

data collection environment; and (c) the need for increased flexibility in 

approaches in data collection. With these requirements in mind, the design we 

recommend to the National Academy of Sciences and to the Bureau of Labor 

Statistics incorporates the following:

• Use of computer tablets as the primary “diary” recording device for each 

sampled consumer unit;

• Web-based9

• Capture and recording of both paper and electronic receipts;

data collection that facilitates reporting by individual diarists 

within the consumer unit;

• Portable paper diaries, cell phones, and smartphones for “real time” data 

capture to serve as memory triggers; 

• Flexible data collection approaches that take advantage of CU’s use of 

financial management software, credit card summaries, and/or checking 

account summaries; and 

• CU-based respondent and technology design options.

We briefly explain each of these design features below, with further 

explication offered in Section III. 

Our design addresses the issue of underreporting by minimizing reliance 

on retrospective reporting, promoting “real time” recording of all expenditures and 

payments, and emphasizing self reporting among all CU members. The use of a 

web-based diary, via web-enabled tablets, provides an efficient means by which 

 

9 For those CUs for which internet access is not possible, the computer tablet would include a 

computer-assisted questionnaire that mimics the web-based questionnaire. The tablet would 

serve as the data collection and storage device for these CUs, once again, with individual IDs for 

CU members to facilitate individual diarists within the CU.
11 

each member of the CU can log on to his or her own personal diary to record 

expenditures.10

Our recommended design attempts to reduce measurement error by 

encouraging real time data recording via self report, to the extent possible. Does 

this mean that every CU should utilize a tablet? Should we require all CU 

members to participate, even if one member of the CU indicates that he or she 

will serve as the CU reporter? With respect to technology, we encourage BLS to 

adopt a standard platform that incorporates technology that could be harnessed 

to improve reporting and reduce burden. Recent experience by Nielsen suggests 

that those unfamiliar with technology can be trained to use the technology for 

data capture (Link, et al. 2011). As the technology will be more than a method of 

accessing the survey, but will also incorporate scanning of receipts, barcode 

reading, QR reading, and other such advances, it makes sense to provide each 

household with a tablet rather than relying on the CU’s own technology. 

 The flexibility and computing power of a tablet will allow CE staff 

to develop an instrument that minimizes burden (e.g., pick lists; scanning of 

receipts and barcodes; ease of selecting repeat purchase items) and facilitates 

consistency in reporting at the level of detail necessary for the CPI. We envision 

a data collection approach with the tablet that allows for the use of apps, 

integration with other technology, online help for the CU members, and real time 

monitoring of diary entries by the CU. 

With respect to multiple reporters per CU, the limited literature suggests 

that the use of multiple diaries per CU increases the reporting of expenditure 

items and CU expenditures (Grootaert 1986; Edgar, et al. 2006). If the source of 

the increasing discrepancy between CE and the Personal Consumption 

Expenditure data from the National Accounts is due to measurement error, then 

increasing self reports and minimizing recall periods are two well established 

 

10 Once again, we note that for those who live in a part of the country without cellular phone 

service, the tablet would serve as the data collection device, with a computer-assisted interview 

questionnaire that mimics the web-based instrument. The major disadvantage will be that CE 

staff will not be able to monitor compliance in the same manner as is possible with a web-based 

instrument. 
12 

means for improving data quality (Bound, Brown and Mathiowetz 2001).11

The use of a computer tablet will facilitate the integration of scanner and 

barcode technology as part of the data capture. Obviously, in 2011, we are not in 

a position to recommend specific technology that will be available in five years. 

However, we have tested the feasibility of our proposed design using currently 

available hardware and software applications. Our feasibility test – described in 

detail in Section III – was completed using an iPad 2, an iPod Touch, several 

relatively inexpensive apps, and free financial management software. 

Furthermore, the use of technology, in which each member of the CU can log in 

to his or her individual diary with their own login and password, permits persons 

who make purchases that they would rather not have other members know about 

to answer confidentially (e.g., teenagers not wanting their parents to know about 

certain purchases), more so than if a paper diary is used (e.g., Stinson, To and 

Davis 2003). 

“Receipts” involve far more than the saving of cash register receipts; 

although consumers may still receive receipts for some purchases (e.g., 

groceries), they are just as likely to receive receipts via email (for both brick and 

mortar purchases as well as internet-based purchases). For example, clothing 

stores such as Nordstrom and Banana Republic now regularly ask customers if 

they would like a paper receipt or have the receipt emailed to them. Similarly, 

bills may exist in paper format, as an electronic email, or simply be automatically 

deducted from a checking account or paid via automatic payment via credit card. 

For example, the 2009 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice reports that 65.7% 

of consumers have access to online banking and 10.1% access banking through 

their mobile device (Table 1, Foster et al 2011). Additionally, 48.8% of 

consumers currently use online banking and 56.3% have bills automatically 

deducted from their bank accounts (Table 4, Foster et al. 2011). To facilitate 

ease of capturing electronic receipts, we recommend the use of a personalized 

 

11Edgar, et al, (2006) did find that some CU members felt the individual diaries were redundant 

and unnecessary since the unit makes purchases collectively. The resolution between these 

findings and are recommendations may be to develop a protocol that allows for some interviewer 

flexibility, in light of CUs asserting or requesting a single person serve as the respondent.
13 

email account or “file cabinet” to which CU members can forward receipts and 

link these electronic receipts with diary records based on the date of purchase. 

This “file cabinet” can be used by the respondent or the interviewer as a recall 

aid without the CU needing to have a printer, paper, or ink to access these 

records.

12

Coupled with the technological approach offered by the use of computer 

tablets, we also encourage adoption of multiple portable means for capturing 

data that can serve as a memory trigger for CU members. Here we suggest a 

protocol in which the interviewers encourage each CU member to note 

purchases and save receipts, either through the use of their own smartphones, 

cellphones,

 

13 or simple paper pocket diaries and holders.14 This is a dramatic 

expansion on the current CED recommendations to diary CUs to keep paper 

records in an attached ‘pocket.’ The use of these portable recording devices ---

encompassing pictures, voice recordings, and/or old fashioned pen and paper – 

would be designed to serve as memory aides with the details recorded upon 

return to the home. Again, these could be linked to the diary based on the date 

of the purchase. This strategy recognizes the current findings of improved data 

quality with use of records in the CE (Safir and Goldenberg 2008) and builds 

from it by expanding records to incorporate other recall aids. Once again, the 

goal would be for each CU member to have a portable means for recording, 

maximizing technology already owned by CU members and for which they are 

comfortable. Included in this use of “portable” diaries are children, ages 7 to 15 

who will be asked to maintain a simple paper diary.

15

We note that CU members may already track finances or part of their 

household expenditures through the use of financial management software (such 

as those offered by mint.com, Quicken, Dave Ramsey, or Suze Orman), credit 

 

12 Several financial software packages as well as apps have a cloud based capability for tracking 

expenses and uploading receipts. For example ProOnGo (www.proongo.com) allows users to 

email receipts to a secure web portal.

13 Coupled with the use of an inbound IVR data collection or simply a means for recording notes 

by the respondent. 14 The use of an iPod Touch (or similar portable technology) for use as a scanner would provide 

the CU with an additional device for the collection of point of purchase data. 

15 A simple electronic “diary” could also be developed for those ages 7 to 15. 
14 

card expenditure category summaries, and/or checking account category 

monitoring. An obvious advantage to reducing respondent burden is to take 

advantage of recording practices already established within the consumer unit. 

In addition, financial management software such as Mint.com offer point of 

purchase applications to use with smartphones; as with pictures, voice 

recordings, and paper and pencil, we suggest leveraging these existing 

technologies as recall aids for those CUs that already utilize such software.16

Field Protocol

The 

integration of financial software is an area for which we recommend further 

exploration.

To encourage participation and to facilitate training of CU respondents, we 

recommend that CE continue to recruit CU sample members via face to face 

contact. 

A critical design issue is the length of the panel – that is, for how many 

weeks or months we ask CU respondents to serve as diarists. This is definitely 

an issue of cost-error tradeoffs, one that impacts the costs of data collection, the 

willingness to participate, the extent to which the data are impacted by panel 

conditioning/fall-off in reporting, and the need for month-to-month and/or year-toyear comparisons among the same CUs. No single design can optimize for all of 

these objectives, which is why we are recommending both a cross sectional and 

a panel component to the single integrated sample approach. We discuss the 

cost-error tradeoffs and address the issue of additional diary burden in detail in 

Section III. Details concerning the field protocol are also provided in Section III. 

Our design recommendations also echo the sentiments expressed by 

Michael Link at the Workshop of Data Producers (June 1-2, 2011). Dr. Link’s 

recommendations included engaging the respondent in a process that could be 

described as an interchange of information between the respondent(s) and the 

data collector. As a means for sustaining interest and to improve compliance, 

 

16 One could envision two approaches with respect to the use of financial management software: 

(1) a partnership with a particular company, so as to take advantage of already existing 

capabilities; or (2) developing CE-specific interfaces for the primary software packages used by 

consumers.
15 

we recommend that BLS in its redesign of the CE develop feedback mechanisms 

to the CU. For example, an analysis of CU expenditures (e.g., percent 

distribution of expenditures) may provide the CU with beneficial feedback as well 

as serve to remind them to continue to record information. 

A radical change in design comes with risks. Although we have reviewed 

the literature as well as current practices in recommending our design (and these 

are cited in the detailed Section III), we strongly recommend a number of 

methodological experiments to support our recommendation. 

 

C. Alternative Data Sources 

Federal Data Sources

We consider the use of alternative data sources, primarily with respect to 

their use for benchmarking. At least three Federal surveys provide detailed 

information that could be (or has been in the past) utilized by BLS as benchmark 

data. The three surveys are the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), the 

National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey (FOODAPS), and the 

Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS). Each of these surveys collects 

detailed information at the dwelling unit or household unit level with respect to 

expenditures for medical expenses, food, and energy use, respectively. Use of 

any of these surveys involves surmounting issues of definitional compatibility, 

reference period correspondence, and data sharing across Federal agencies. 

 Non-Federal Data Sources

Beyond the scope of data collected by the Federal government, there is 

an abundance of consumer data collected and warehoused in the private sector. 

How can the Federal government harness these rich data sources? Are there 

means for using these data to reduce respondent burden for CE sample 

members? Can these data be used as benchmarks, for example, within 

particular expenditure categories? Or can these data provide a means for 

improving estimation, once again, within particular expenditure categories? We 

were initially optimistic about micro-level integration of non-federal administrative 

data sources with CE data. However, the current state of knowledge about these 
16 

sources and the incredible task involved in turning administrative records from 

private companies into survey data for all sampled persons makes us cautious in 

recommending their use for purposes other than nonresponse monitoring and 

benchmarks. This is, however, one area for which a recommendation made in 

2011 may be outdated by 2015. 

So in answer to the questions raised above, yes, we do believe that 

administrative data could be used to reduce burden but for which CUs and for 

what expenditures, it is difficult to determine. For example, with respect to retail 

grocery sales, in 2009 four companies (Walmart, Kroger, Costco, and 

Supervalue) account for more than 50% of sales in the U.S (Supermarket News’s

Top 75 Retailers for 2009, undated) and in the largest 100 metropolitan areas, 

these retailers accounted for 72% of sales by 1998 (Martinez 2007). The 

ramifications of this level of concentration is obvious for capturing consumer 

expenditures of groceries: for those consumer units who are enrolled in customer 

loyalty programs, one could capture these data from the provider rather than the 

consumer if BLS can successful hurdle the negotiations for micro level data from 

these organization AND can obtain permission to access micro data for individual 

consumer units. 

But the downfall of the use of administrative records as outlined above is 

that no one set of data are universal, leading to mixed “modes” of data across 

consumer units or even individuals within the consumer unit. 

 With respect to use for benchmarking, once again, there are categories of 

expenditures and particular subgroups of the population for which these 

administrative records could be (and have in the past been) informative (e.g., the 

use of state tax records to benchmark expenditures on cigarettes, alcohol, and 

gasoline). 

D. Addressing Issues of Nonresponse 

Although issues of nonresponse were not highlighted as a major focus of 

design recommendations outlined in the NAS RFP, we felt we would be remiss to 
17 

limit our consideration of sources of error that potentially impact the quality of CE 

estimates to measurement. Comparisons between estimates based on the CE 

and those that are based on the National Accounts suggest deterioration in the 

quality of the CE data. While measurement error is one source that most likely 

contributes to the disparity in these two sets of estimates, other sources such as 

coverage error, differential post survey adjustment procedures, definitional 

differences, as well as nonresponse need to be considered. Olson (2011) found 

that measurement error in the CE was strongly associated with participation 

propensities (more so than with spending in various expenditure categories) and 

recommended that targeting design features to improve measurement error may 

also be beneficial to participation propensities. As a proactive means of 

addressing nonresponse, we recommend the integration of global expenditure 

questions at the time of the initial CE interview (conducted by an interviewer). A 

comparison of estimates based on global questions included in the Panel Study 

of Income Dynamics to CE expenditures obtained from the interview portion of 

the CE found that a limited number of global questions accounted over 70% of 

CE reported total expenditures and fell within the 95% confidence interval for CE 

across the time period of the study (Li et al. 2010). Responses to global 

questions could be used in two ways: (a) as a means for prompting respondents 

when reported expenditures fall below the annual global questions for a category 

and (b) as further information to be considered in nonresponse adjustment. Note 

that we make this recommendation for monitoring of potential nonresponse error, 

not as a means of addressing measurement error (following concerns voiced at 

the CE Methods Workshop, Edgar 2011).

Detailed discussion of considerations with respect to nonresponse can be 

found in Section V.

E. Costs

 

As part of the RFP, we were asked to discuss cost estimates related to 

development, implementation, and ongoing data collection. To the extent 

possible, these issues are outlined in Section VI. Our design attempts to be cost 
18 

neutral with respect to data collection and to take advantage, to the extent 

possible of existing technology (as opposed to reinventing the wheel). 
19 

III. Recommended Design Features: Details

A. Sample Design

Cross Section and Panel Component

One requirement of the CE is to support micro-level analyses over a 12-

month period (Henderson et al. 2011). This feature is not required for the CPI, 

but it does allow microdata users to track spending for a CU over the course of 

an entire year. The current design satisfies this panel requirement by conducting 

the quarterly interview for five quarters with each household, relying extensively 

on retrospective recall of expenditures. This protocol places substantial burden 

on participating households. The burden of completing the quarterly interview 

five times has significant implications for both nonresponse and measurement 

error, including the burden of collecting data not used in estimation. Households 

that attrite (do not complete all of interviews 2 through 5) have different 

characteristics than households completing all five interviews (King, et al. 2009) 

increasing the risk of nonresponse bias. In comparing attritors versus nonattritors, King and her colleagues found statistically significant differences on 

age, marital status, CU size, and region, race, educational attainment, and 

housing tenure. They concluded that the CE data “may not be missing 

completely at random.” Furthermore, repeated interviewing may introduce panel 

conditioning problems, whereby respondents are motivated to misreport in order 

to shorten the length of the interview (Safir 2011). 

In the interest of reducing respondent burden – and in turn reducing the

joint risks of nonresponse and measurement error – we recommend a design in 

which only a subset of CE households are empanelled. The panel component 

would be comprised of a sub-sample of CUs that are interviewed three times at 

six month intervals. The CU roster and CU socioeconomic information, including 

income, would be updated for each interview. This component would be 

staggered such that a random 1/12 of the yearly sample (and a random 1/3 of the 

quarterly sample) is interviewed for the first time each month. Households 
20 

selected for the larger cross-section component, by contrast, would only be 

included for only a single month, with face to face interviews prior to and after the 

diary month. 

This design permits within-CU comparisons to examine change within a 

single month, two more weeks than the current CED design. It permits direct 

within-CU comparisons for one year change estimates across two consecutive 

years (e.g., January 2012 and January 2013) while also providing data for the 

same CU at the midpoint of panel period (in this case, July 2012), facilitating sixmonth change estimates. The minimum needed to satisfy the requirement of 

providing longitudinal data for micro-level analyses is two interviews conducted 

12 months apart. We realize of course, that although the proposed design does 

not provide data for a CU for each week, and thus all twelve months, it does 

facilitate evaluating year to year changes in consumption by a consumer unit. 

This is a critical element of our design. Our design relies almost exclusively on 

“prospective” and real time measurement of expenditures; the exception being 

global recall questions asked primarily for purposes of nonresponse bias 

analyses and adjustment and salient, high expenditure items (see details below). 

Regardless of whether a CU is included in the cross-sectional sample or the 

empanelled sample, the respondent task is the same – complete the diary for a 

one-month period. The difference lies in the repeated request to the empanelled 

members –with the collection of the one-month diary for months 1, 7 and 13. 

Our recommendation is based on the requirement that the proposed 

design not rely on retrospective recall for expenditure estimates. In this design, 

we echo concerns voiced by experts from the CE Methods Panel held by the 

Census Bureau and COPAFS, including Gordon Willis’s statement “...people 

can't recall certain things....I mean, there are no sophisticated magical procedures 

that we can necessarily use, at least at reasonable cost here” and Peter Miller’s 

urging to “Just stop asking questions and get them to do the behaviors so that you'll 

have the information you want, and it will be better information.” Could CUs be 

empanelled for a full quarter or a full year? That, of course, is an empirical 

question that could be tested. We do not recommend such a design that would 
21 

require serving as a diarist for 12 months or 52 consecutive weeks as we believe 

this would be unduly burdensome to respondents and subject to high levels of 

respondent fatigue. We could envision a number of alternative designs to meet 

the needs of data users who require full quarter or annual expenditures for a 

single CU. All of those designs, however, involve some use of retrospective 

recall. As noted in the RFP, “[A] recall survey would only be used to supplement 

information not otherwise available” (p. 13). So to meet the needs of these 

outside users, BLS could implement one of the following supplemental designs:

• A panel using the current CEI design;

• A panel with monthly retrospective interviews (thereby reducing the 

length of the recall period) but increasing respondent burden; 

• Incorporating retrospective questions for the empanelled members 

of the proposed design; or

• Statistical imputation of the in-between months for the panel 

members, borrowing information and strength from the crosssectional units and other panel members to improve the imputation 

models. 

Under the assumption that the prospective, diary approach yields better quality 

data, estimates from any or all of these designs could be adjusted with the 

monthly diary data. But each of these alternatives is simply a tweaking (or 

maintenance) of the status quo and therefore, not recommended for meeting the 

primary objectives of improving data for the CPI. 

The recommendation to interview the empanelled CUs three times is 

based on considerations of respondent burden, measurement, and sample 

tracking costs. Minimizing respondent burden is a key priority, which means that

a lower number of interviews are desirable. The approach of conducting just two 

interviews spaced by 12 months, however, is in our view suboptimal for several 

reasons. A full year is a significant length of time during which we would expect 

the composition of many CUs to change and/or the entire CU to move to a new 

address. With respect to measurement, having that long of a gap between data 

collection periods may also require a fair amount of interviewer “re-teaching” at 
22 

interview 2 and due to CU members having forgotten what they learned at 

interview 1 about how to document and report their expenditures. Adding an 

additional interview six months after the first interview is intended to alleviate 

these concerns. There will still be some churn in CU composition and forgetting 

of the reporting protocols, but the magnitude of these issues, we suspect, would 

be less severe at six month intervals rather than a 12 month interval. 

The recommendation to move away from a fully empanelled interview 

sample is one of the most significant features of this proposed redesign. This is 

a major opportunity to reduce the burden on the majority of households 

participating in the CE and, in turn, improve data quality. Importantly, because all 

expenditures will be collected prospectively through the diary, there will be no 

need to discard the first interview as in the current design. The fact that a panel 

design is not required by the CPI is a critical consideration in this 

recommendation.

17

We expect greater reporting accuracy under the redesign because the 

empanelled households will be better compensated and subjected to fewer 

interviews, reducing the likelihood of errors caused by attrition and panel 

conditioning. In addition, a major benefit of the panel component is that it will 

collect all expenditures at the micro level for three full months, which is an 

improvement over the current design that does not provide both interview and 

diary data at the micro (CU) level.

 While the needs of other data users are important, the 

tremendous burden on each cooperating CU inherent in a five interview design or

potential measurement errors induced through extensive use of retrospective 

recall does not appear to be justified. Instead, we recommend that the CE 

support longitudinal micro-level analysis by collecting these data on just the 

panel component. 

 

17 We are cognizant that other data users do make use of total quarterly expenditures and 

spending across all four quarters (Henderson, et al, 2010). Any redesign must face the 

competing constraints of meeting the needs of the CPI, reducing measurement and nonresponse 

error, minimizing respondent burden while at the same time maximizing the utility of the data for 

the majority of data users. Our design attempts to meets these competing demands, with priority 

given to the CPI’s data needs and the burden placed on the respondent. 
23 

Sample Size and Statistical Precision

According to Henderson et al. (2011), the current CE sample size is not 

sufficient for supporting desired precision levels. The current sample size is 

7,000 non-bounding interviews (interviews 2 through 5) per quarter in the 

Interview Survey, and 7,100 interviewed households per year in the Diary 

Survey. In order to achieve a coefficient of variation (CV) of one percent or less 

for the mean annual total expenditures per CU at the national level, it is 

estimated that the sample sizes would need to be at least 7,500 non-bounding 

interviews per quarter in the Interview Survey, and 7,500 interviewed households 

per year in the Diary Survey (Henderson et al. 2011). 

Mapping these sample size requirements onto the proposed sample 

design is challenging for several reasons. One reason is simply the lack of 

information. We were unable to find any estimates of the average design effect 

associated with the multi-stage sample or the nonresponse and calibration 

weighting adjustments used for the current CE. This limits the utility of knowing 

the nominal samples reported in CE methods reports (e.g., Swanson 2011). A 

second challenge is that the proposed design differs from the current design in 

several important ways. Most notably, the proposed design features one survey 

with two samples (cross-sectional and panel) instead of two separate surveys 

(Diary and Quarterly Interview). 

In calculating the statistical precision provided by the current design, it 

seems appropriate to only use one of the surveys (e.g., n=28,000 households 

interviews per year in the Quarterly Interview) because the other survey (Diary) 

collects, for the most part, a separate set of expenditures. Pooling the two 

survey samples would, thus, seem to yield overestimates of the precision

provided by the current CE. 

In determining the optimal sample size to propose for the redesign, we 

first sought to calculate the sample size needed to achieve the one percent or 

less CV for the mean annual total expenditures per CU at the national level 

mentioned in Henderson et al. (2011). Assuming the mean is approximately 

$49,067 (Swanson 2011), the standard error of the mean required to achieve 
24 

CV=1% would be approximately $490.67. Next, we needed an estimate for the 

population variance. Using a standard error of the survey mean of $595 

(Swanson 2011) and an annual sample size of n=28,000 (Henderson et al. 2011)

and assuming a design effect equal to 1.0, the estimated population standard 

deviation is 99,562.54. Finally, we can estimate the annual sample size need to 

achieve CV=1% as (99,562.54/490.67)2 = 41,173. This would be 1.47 times 

more sample than is used under the current design.18

For the proposed redesign, we recommend completing 7,000 household 

interviews per quarter in the cross-sectional component and 1,350 household 

interviews per quarter in the panel component. At the start of the second year of 

the redesigned CES, the 1,350 panel interviews would be the aggregation of 

approximately 450 1st interviews (e.g., 150 in each January, February and 

March), 450 2nd interviews, and 450 3rd interviews. Prior to the start of the 

second year, the panel component sample size would be somewhat smaller 

because the full rotating design is not yet in place. 

 Given that the proposed 

redesign should not dramatically increase the CE program budget, we simply 

note the disparity between the current sample size and what we estimate to be 

the sample size required to achieve the stated precision target. We do not use 

the annual n=41,173 figure elsewhere in this report because we suspect that it is 

not realistic under the program budget. Instead, the sample sizes we propose 

are designed to roughly approximate the statistical precision provided by the 

current CE interview sample sizes. If more funding becomes available, it would 

be fairly straightforward to increase the sample size. 

The proposed design for the cross-sectional and panel components is 

illustrated in Figure 1. The panel component sample sizes in the figure do not 

account for attrition, mainly because the attrition rate for the proposed design is 

currently unknown. We would note, however, that we do expect the number of 

 

18 We note that as independent, outside researchers we do not have line of sight to all of the 

relevant design factors and estimated population parameters that are available to the CE 

sampling statisticians. The estimates reported here represent out attempt to compute the sample 

size needed to satisfy the stated precision requirements based on CE figures reported in the 

literature. We acknowledge that our estimates may somewhat imprecise due to the 

aforementioned lack of information about the relevant aspects of the current CE sample design, 

such as the design effect due to stratification, clustering or weighting.. 
25 

completed CU interviews to decrease somewhat across the three interviews 

within a given cohort. Pilot testing is needed to determine exactly how much 

attrition should be expected between the first, second, and third interviews in the 

panel component, and thus how much the sample should be inflated to meet a 

third interview target sample size of 150 in the panel component. For example, if 

we assume a 70% cooperation rate to the first interview and an 80% cooperation 

rate to each of the second and third interviews, BLS would need to sample 335 

cases each quarter to obtain 235 completes (335*0.70) in the first interview, 188 

completes in the second interview (235*0.80), and 150 completes in the third 

interview (188*0.80).

While the cross-sectional component sample sizes are presented here on 

a quarterly basis, it is important to keep in mind that the period of data collection 

for each household is one month. Cross-section households and panel 

households would be instructed to report their expenditure for 30 days (not 90).

Quarterly estimates of total expenditures would be made from adding across 

consecutive months.

Another consideration with respect to the CE sample size is the CPI 

requirement that Entry Level Items (ELI) be selected based on expenditurebased probabilities that are representative at the PSU level. CE does not 

currently meet this requirement and CPI must aggregate expenditures to the ELIRegion level in order to have a large enough sample for each probability (Casey 

2010). ELI probability selection requires the largest expenditure sample sizes of 

any of the current CPI production uses because sufficient sample is required at 

the ELI-PSU level. Unfortunately, the data required to incorporate this CPI 

requirement into the sample design do not appear to be publically available or 

contained in any Gemini Project-related documents. While means, standard 

errors, and CVs are published in tables at the expenditure class level, we were 

unable to find such statistics at the ELI level, which are two levels below the 

expenditure class level. 
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Cross-sectional Component

Yr 1 samples

Yr 2 samples

Yr 3 samples

Panel Component

Yr 1 Jan Cohort 150 150 150

Yr 1 Feb Cohort 150 150 150

Yr 1 Mar Cohort 150 150 150

Yr 1 Apr Cohort 150 150 150

Yr 1 May Cohort 150 150 150

Yr 1 Jun Cohort 150 150 150

Yr 1 Jul Cohort 150 150 150

Yr 1 Aug Cohort 150 150 150

Yr 1 Sep Cohort 150 150 150

Yr 1 Oct Cohort 150 150 150

Yr 1 Nov Cohort 150 150 150

Yr 1 Dec Cohort 150 150 150

Yr 2 Jan Cohort 150 150 150

Yr 2 Feb Cohort 150 150 150

Yr 2 Mar Cohort 150 150 150

Yr 2 Apr Cohort 150 150 150

Yr 2 May Cohort 150 150 150

Yr 2 Jun Cohort 150 150 150

Yr 2 Jul Cohort 150 150 150

Yr 2 Aug Cohort 150 150 150

Yr 2 Sep Cohort 150 150 150

Yr 2 Oct Cohort 150 150 150

Yr 2 Nov Cohort 150 150 150

Yr 2 Dec Cohort 150 150 150

Yr 3 Jan Cohort 150 150

Yr 3 Feb Cohort 150 150

Yr 3 Mar Cohort 150 150

Yr 3 Apr Cohort 150 150

Yr 3 May Cohort 150 150

Yr 3 Jun Cohort 150 150

Yr 3 Jul Cohort 150

Yr 3 Aug Cohort 150

Yr 3 Sep Cohort 150

Yr 3 Oct Cohort 150

Yr 3 Nov Cohort 150

Yr 3 Dec Cohort 150

Total Interviews

Key

 1st interview

 2nd interview

 3rd interview

7,450 7,450 7,900 7,900 8,350 8,350 8,350 8,350 8,350 8,350 8,350 8,350

7,000 7,000 7,000 7,000

7,000 7,000 7,000 7,000

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

7,000 7,000 7,000 7,000

Figure 1. Effective sample sizes for the cross-sectional and panel components under the proposed redesign
27 

Absent the relevant data, we cannot make definitive statements about 

whether or not the proposed redesign would satisfy this requirement. The 

proposed design calls for 33,220 total interviews per year; this compares to the 

current data collection for the CEI of 35,000 completed interviews with estimates 

based on 28,000 interviews. This increase would be expected to bring this CPI 

goal more within reach, especially for the larger PSUs. 

Stratification and allocation

The CE data users indicate a variety of needs not currently met in the 

current sample design, including greater desired precision from estimates on 

rural CUs and on military CUs as well as state level estimates. Furthermore, data 

users want more households at each end of the income distribution. We have 

insufficient information for examining tradeoffs between different stratification and 

allocation schemes. We simply note that other federal surveys that support statelevel analyses at a monthly basis have samples that are substantially larger than 

the CE’s current design (e.g., the CPS selects 72,000 housing units from 824 

sample areas to obtain 60,000 occupied households; BLS, Technical Notes, pp. 

190-192). 

Weighting Protocol

The weighting protocol needed for the proposed redesign would have 

many similarities to the protocol used for the current CE design (Swanson 2011). 

Under the current protocol, each CU is assigned a weight, which is the number of 

similar CUs in the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population that the sampled 

CU represents. The final weight is the product of four components: 

Final Weight = Base Weight x Weighting Control Factor x Nonresponse 

Adjustment Factor x Calibration Adjustment Factor

The base weight is equal to the inverse of the CU’s probability of being selected 

for the sample. Base weights in the CES are typically around 10,000. The 

weighting control factor adjusts for subsampling in the field. Subsampling occurs 

when an interviewer visits a particular address and discovers multiple housing 

units where only one housing unit was expected. 
28 

The nonresponse adjustment factor adjusts for interviews that cannot be 

conducted due to refusal or the inability to contact anyone at the sample unit. 

This adjustment is computed separately for each of 64 demographic groups 

defined by region, CU size, tenure (own/rent), and race (black/non-black). Within 

each group, the adjustment is computed as the ratio of the number of occupied 

housing units to the number of responders. As part of the CE redesign, we 

recommend investigating a more elaborate protocol for nonresponse adjustment. 

In particular, Hispanic ethnicity, education, presence or absence of children, and 

household type (e.g., married couple, single adult, nonfamily) are all robust 

correlates of survey nonresponse, and some characteristics can be reliably 

observed by interviewers (see Nonresponse section below). It seems possible 

that incorporating these other dimensions into the nonresponse adjustment may 

yield nonresponse bias reduction beyond that achieved under the current 

protocol. Of course, the use of additional variables may mean that a response 

propensity based adjustment may be needed rather than a weighting class 

adjustment. This change in methods for sample-based nonresponse 

adjustments may be especially warranted to the extent that auxiliary 

administrative data sets are identified that contain adjustment variables (again, 

see Nonresponse section).

The calibration adjustment adjusts the weights to 24 “known” population 

counts to account for frame undercoverage. The population counts are derived 

from the Current Population Survey and account for age, race, household tenure 

(owner/renter), region of the country, and urban/rural. Each CU is given its own 

unique calibration factor. There are infinitely many sets of calibration factors that 

make the weights add up to the 24 population counts, and the Consumer 

Expenditure Survey selects the set that minimizes the amount of change made to 

the “initial weights.” The calibration adjustment factor is computed as the ratio of 

the CPS population estimate to the CE population estimate. The CE population 

estimate is computed as the product of the number of responders, number of 

people per CU and the nonresponse adjustment factor. 
29 

The major changes proposed for the CE in this report focus mainly on 

modes of data collection and measurement. They are not focused on how 

sample units are selected from the sampling frame. In fact, we do not have 

access to the kinds of information used to evaluate different sample methods 

such as the work by Rawlings, et al. (2010). Consequently, we believe that the 

steps involved in weighting the redesigned CE would remain largely unchanged. 

That said, the distribution of base weight factors and other adjustments would be 

expected to change. For example, if the proposed sample sizes for the redesign 

are adopted (Figure 1), then the mean base weight value would be expected to 

be decrease slightly. Given the reduced respondent burden and focus on 

technology under the proposed redesign, we would also anticipate improved 

survey participation – particularly among young adults and perhaps other groups 

that traditionally exhibit lower survey response propensities. If this is borne out, 

then the nonresponse adjustments needed under the redesign would tend to be 

smaller than those required under the current protocol.

B. Survey Design and Field Protocol 

Measurement error increases with the length of time between a 

transaction and the reporting of that transaction (Eisenhower, Mathiowetz and 

Morganstein 1991). The current design of the Quarterly Interview, with its 

emphasis on retrospective episodic recall, contributes to measurement error. 

These measurement errors are most likely in the direction of errors of omission 

as the discarded first wave bounding interviews are intended to limit telescoping. 

The effect of long recall periods and reliance on retrospective episodic recall are 

further exacerbated by lack of knowledge on the part of proxy reporters (e.g., 

Blair et al. 1991). With these error sources in mind, our design attempts to 

maximize the “real time” collection of expenditures and payments, with data 

provided to the extent possible by the person making the expenditure or 

payment.

The key components of our survey design involve:
30 

• An initial face to face interview during which data are collected on 

the consumer units’ demographic characteristics (including 

income), technology ownership and use,19

• Training during the initial interview (and during follow up visits) as to 

what and how to record information; 

global questions 

concerning expenditures in the past year, questions which assess 

expenditure monitoring by the CU, and retrospective questions 

concerning the purchase of low frequency, high cost items (e.g., 

automobiles) in the past year;

• The placement of an electronic diary recording device (e.g. tablet)

that encompasses a web-based as well as a computer assisted 

diary with individual IDs for each member of the CU ages 16 and 

older and which would be maintained for a 30 day diary period;

• Placement of additional hardware to facilitate the scanning of 

barcodes and the electronic capture of receipts, bills, and other 

documents;

• Placement of paper portable diaries (or training to use CU-owned 

electronic devices20

• Placement of paper mini-diaries for children ages 7 to 15 years of 

age

to be used as portable diaries) for CU 

members ages 16 and older;

21

• Electronic file cabinets for CU members to upload electronic 

receipts;

; 

• Ongoing monitoring of compliance throughout the one-month diary 

period; and

 

19 Knowing what technology is owned by CU members and how the various devices are used will 

be important in matching the various design features of the expenditure survey and diary to the 

technology level of the CU.

20 If a device such as an iPod Touch is placed in the home for the purpose of barcode reading 

and /or scanning, that device could also be used by CU members for the purposes of point of 

purchase data capture. 

21 Or a simple electronic-based diary for this age group. 
31 

• Wrap up interview that encompasses scanning of receipts (as 

needed), review of expenditures, collection of payments that may 

not have been captured in the diary (e.g., automatic deductions 

from accounts or payroll), adjudication of items that may involve 

reimbursements (e.g. medical expenses) and retrospective 

questions as needed to establish as complete a record as possible 

for the CU.

Modes of Data Collection 

In our proposal, we suggested that our final recommendation would 

advocate for the use of multiple modes of data collection for the diary, given 

recent empirical work that suggested that some respondents may be comfortable 

completing a diary online while others would prefer a paper-based diary (Olson, 

Smyth and Wood 2010). However, our review of the literature as well as our 

interviews with organizations that have adopted and integrated technology for 

data collection suggests that it is feasible to utilize technology in data collection 

across a broad range of demographic groups (personal communication with 

Nielsen staff, July, 2011; personal communication with RTI staff, July, 2011). For 

this reason, we are recommending the use of a computer tablet for all sampled 

CUs. Why the tablet? In its review of technology for CE data capture, Westat 

(2011) noted several desirable features of tablets: large storage capacity (up to 

64 gigabytes), wireless connectivity, wide range of applications, the ability to 

easily run multiple applications (multitasking), and embedded GPS capabilities. 

Tablet technology also offers the advantage of developing applications that 

could, if desired, be ported to other more mobile devices. We envision CU 

respondents engaging in two very different and distinct types of data collection –

(1) the collection of bits of information that can serve as memory triggers and (2) 

the actual CE diary. With respect to the former (discussed below) we do 

recommend a range of modes, drawing upon the level of technological expertise 

and ownership within the CU. However, for the actual diary, we see major 

advantages of a singular design and mode of data capture, including but not 
32 

limited to the cost savings associated with a single design and training of 

interviewers. Furthermore, use of an electronic instrument in which items can be 

automatically coded into relevant expenditure categories should decrease postdata collection processing time, and thus increase timeliness of the released 

data.

We also recommend harnessing the power of the tablet/web-based 

instrument for easing the respondent burden in reporting redundant purchases. 

For example, we speculate that a significant portion of grocery store purchases 

are redundant from week to week. The creation of dynamic smart lists – from 

which the respondent could select for subsequent diary entries – is but one 

feature that could reduce the day to day respondent burden. 

In recommending a web-based data collection protocol, we recognize that 

although the majority of consumer units in the U.S. have the capacity to complete

a diary online (Pew Research Center 2010), a small but significant portion (22%) 

of the households in the U.S. (in 2011) cannot access the internet from home. 

Furthermore, penetration of high speed internet access is even lower (about 

66%) (Smith 2010). The use of a tablet-based CE diary allows the flexibility to 

allow those CUs with web access (or for whom web access is possible) to 

complete the diary via the web while offering those CUs without access the same 

instrument via a computer-assisted self-interview. The major advantage of such 

a design is that the use of a single technology and user-interface negates the 

confounding of mode effects (and corresponding measurement error issues) with 

demographic characteristics associated with web access and/or technology 

ownership. Recent experience (e.g. Link et al. 2011) suggests that users with 

little to no experience using “high tech” devices can be trained to use such 

devices effectively for data collection. 

Survey Instruments 

Our recommended design for the interview and diary draws upon the 

designs of the UK Expenditure and Food Survey (Horsfield 2010; Leicester and 

Oldefield 2009), the Nielsen Homescan project (Einav, Leibtag and Nevo 2008; 

personal communication), the experimentation related to the Canadian 
33 

household expenditure survey (Tremblay, et al. 2011) and the recent efforts 

related to the design of the USDA’s National Household Food Acquisition and 

Purchase Survey (Matulewicz, Kalb, Redel and Cole 2011). 

As with the current design, we recommend that the initial recruitment into 

the sample and interview be conducted face to face. We see no means by which 

one can efficiently recruit CU members and place the materials for a study such 

as this to serve as a responding household in a large, diverse national sample 

without a face to face contact. The initial interview would focus on establishing 

the membership of the CU, collecting demographic information (including 

income) about those CU members and collecting two sets of expenditures 

questions – retrospective questions focusing on major purchases and global 

expenditure questions. In addition, the initial interview would identify key 

aspects concerning the CU’s expenditure monitoring behavior (e.g., use of 

expenditure monitoring software; use of single credit cards for all purchases;

check monitoring).

Where our recommendation deviates significantly from the current CE 

diary and from other national consumer expenditure surveys is with respect to 

the length of the diary period. Our recommendation is for diarists to serve for a 

one-month period, a period that doubles the length of the diary commitment for 

the current CE diary. Why the extended diary period? Clearly, there is 

experience in the private sector with households participating for extended 

periods of time recording expenditures. For example, Homescan respondents 

may participate for a period in excess of six months (personal communication); in 

the U.K., members of the UK-Worldpanel provide data for as many months as 

they wish to participate (Leicester and Oldfield 2009). Although a one month 

diary may seem more burdensome than a current two week design, the 

technology allowing for recognition over recall, use of ‘pick lists’ for previously 

purchased items, and electronic memory triggers should help reduce the 

cognitive burden on the CU even though the time burden will have increased. 

Given the costs involved with training the consumer unit to use the tablet 

as a data collection instrument and the desire of data users to have fully 
34 

integrated information (that is, data that are currently collected in the diary and 

the interview) for CUs we believe that this design will be a reasonable balance of 

survey errors and survey costs. Unfortunately, the empirical literature to inform 

this design feature either does not exist or is more than four decades old (e.g., 

Sudman and Ferber 1971; Sudman and Bradburn 1973). This is a critical design 

decision and one which we strongly recommend further empirical work be 

conducted and for which we have outlined possible methodological investigations 

in Section IV. 

Why the inclusion of the two sets of retrospective expenditure questions 

when our focus is on “real time” capture of expenditures? With respect to major 

purchases, we realize that the rarity of the event requires the reporting of these 

types of expenditures for an extended recall period. Without these retrospective 

reports, there may be insufficient data provided during the diary period for 

estimation of these rare, high cost expenditures. In addition our recommendation

is based on the U.K experience (Horsfield 2010), coupled with the empirical data 

that suggests that major expenditures are less subject to errors of omission even 

for relatively long recall periods (Sudman and Ferber 1971; Neter and Waksberg 

1964; Neter 1970). Although salient expenditures are less likely to be subject to 

errors of omission, the reporting of these expenditures may be more likely to be 

subject to forward telescoping, that is, the reporting of the purchase as occurring 

more recently than is true. Question wording for these retrospective reports will 

need to incorporate means to reduce forward telescoping for these items (e.g., 

two time period reports within a single interview). The U.K. questions focus on 

expenditures in excess of 5,000£; for the U.S. we would recommend an 

approach that focuses both on the level of expenditure and the type of 

expenditure (e.g., home repairs in excess of $5,000 made during the last six 

months; automobiles, regardless of price). 

 
35 

The inclusion of the global questions provides data that can facilitate both 

benchmarking as well as nonresponse adjustment.

22 As noted earlier, analysis 

of global questions included in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) 

found that a set of global expenditure items accounted for 70% of the 

expenditures captured in the Consumer Expenditure Survey Interview data (Li et 

al. 2010).

23

Table 1 summarizes the source for each category of expenditure currently 

collected in the CE and how the proposed design will collect this information. For 

some items, the source will be identical. For example, most food items are 

currently collected via the diary and the proposed design continues to have them 

collected through the diary. Similarly, we recommend that automobile purchases 

continue to be collected via the interview. However, other items, such as gasoline 

purchases are currently used from the interview. We believe that this type of 

smaller payment could be more accurately collected via the diary. Additionally, 

with an extended diary time of one month, this will be sufficient to capture 

 For example, the PSID includes a global question concerning 

average weekly expenditures for food used at home. Such information could be 

informative with respect to understanding compliance and possible 

underreporting of food purchases during the diary period. Other global questions 

collected as part of the initial interview would allow analysts to examine the 

extent to which the diarists are reporting at a level commensurate with their past 

expenditure patterns and provide useful data for nonresponse bias detection and 

adjustment.

 

22 Global questions could also be expanded to facilitate quarterly and/or annual estimation of 

expenditures for the empanelled members of the study. Although we don’t recommend this 

approach, we realize that this compromise may be necessary to meet the demands of outside 

data users who rely on quarterly and annual estimates for individual CUs. However, such an 

approach simply reasserts the present design, with a mix of diary and retrospective reports, albeit 

for this case, for a single CU (as compared to the present CE design which draws from different 

CUs for the prospective and retrospective reports). We do, however, think that the global 

questions could provide useful covariates should imputation of between-wave expenditures be 

considered.

23 Examples of these questions include “How much do you spend on food in an average week?; 

“How much are your monthly mortgage payments?” “How much is your total yearly homeowner’s 

insurance premium?” “In the last month, how much did you and your family living there pay for 

each of these transportation related expenses....Gasoline? Repairs and maintenance? Parking 

and carpool? Bus fares and train fares? Taxicabs? Other transportation? See Exhibit 1, Li et al. 

2010.
36 

regular, consistent expenditures that occur monthly such as mortgage and rent 

payments and utility bills.

Table 1: Expenditure item collected in the Current Expenditure Survey by 

source, current design and proposed redesign

Current Design Proposed Redesign

Food

Food at home

Cereals and bakery products Diary Diary

Cereals and cereal products Diary Diary

Bakery products Diary Diary

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs Diary Diary

Beef Diary Diary

Pork Diary Diary

Other meats Diary Diary

Poultry Diary Diary

Fish and seafood Diary Diary

Eggs Diary Diary

Dairy products Diary Diary

Fresh milk and cream Diary Diary

Other dairy products Diary Diary

Fruits and vegetables Diary Diary

Fresh fruits Diary Diary

Fresh vegetables Diary Diary

Processed fruits Diary Diary

Processed vegetables Diary Diary

Other food at home Diary Diary

Sugar and other sweets Diary Diary

Fats and oils Diary Diary

Miscellaneous foods Diary Diary

Nonalcoholic beverages Diary Diary

Food prepared by consumer unit on out-of-town trips Interview Diary

Food away from home Diary + Interview Diary

Alcoholic beverages Diary + Interview Diary

Housing

Shelter

Owned dwellings Interview Diary + Interview

Mortgage interest and charges Interview Diary + Interview

Property taxes Interview Diary + Interview

Maintenance, repairs, insurance, other expenses Interview Diary + Interview

Rented dwellings Interview Diary + Interview

Other lodging Interview Diary + Interview

Utilities, fuels, and public services

Natural gas Interview Diary + Interview

Electricity Interview Diary + Interview

Fuel oil and other fuels Interview Diary + Interview

Telephone services Interview Diary + Interview

Water and other public services Interview Diary + Interview

Household operations

Personal services Interview Diary

Other household expenses Interview + Diary Diary

Housekeeping supplies

Laundry and cleaning supplies Diary Diary

Other household products Diary Diary

Postage and stationery Diary Diary

Households furnishings and equipment

Household textiles Diary + Interview Diary
37 

Current Design Proposed Redesign

Furniture Interview + Diary Diary + Interview 

Floor coverings Interview Diary + Interview

Major appliances Interview Diary + Interview

Small appliances, misc. housewares Interview + Diary Diary

Misc. household equipment Interview + Diary Diary

Apparel and services

Men and boys

Men, 16 and over Interview + Diary Diary

Boys, 2 to 15 Interview + Diary Diary

Women and girls

Women, 16 and over Interview + Diary Diary

Girls, 2 to 15 Interview + Diary Diary

Children under 2 Interview + Diary Diary

Footwear Diary Diary

Other apparel products and services Interview + Diary Diary

 

Transportation

Vehicle purchases (net outlay)

Cars and trucks, new Interview Interview

Cars and trucks, used Interview Interview

Other vehicles Interview Interview

Gasoline and motor oil Interview + Diary Diary

Other vehicle expenses Diary

Vehicle finance charges Interview Diary

Maintenance and repairs Interview + Diary Diary

Vehicle insurance Diary Diary

Vehicle rental, leases, licenses, and other charges Interview Diary

Public transportation Interview + Diary Diary

 

Health care

Health insurance Interview Diary + Interview

Medical services Interview Diary + Interview

Drugs Diary + Interview Diary + Interview

Medical supplies Interview + Diary Diary

 

Entertainment

Fees and admissions Interview + Diary Diary

Audio and visual equip. & services Interview + Diary Diary + Interview

Pets, toys, hobbies, & playground equipment Interview + Diary Diary

Other entertainment supplies, equipment, and services Interview + Diary Diary + Interview

 

Personal care products and services Diary + Interview Diary

Reading Interview + Diary Diary

Education Interview + Diary Diary

Tobacco products & smoking supplies Interview + Diary Diary

Miscellaneous Interview + Diary Diary

Cash contributions Interview Diary + Interview

Personal insurance and pensions

Life and other personal insurance Interview Diary + Interview

Pensions and Social Security Interview Diary + Interview

Note: “Current Design” column from Survey Source of Data for Consumer Expenditure Survey Integrated 

Tables, 2009. “Interview+Diary” in the “current design” column indicates that the interview is the source of 

the majority of the items for this category, and that the diary is the source for the minority of the items. 

“Diary+Interview” indicates the converse.

 
38 

As for the actual design of the CE diary, we encourage development of a 

diary structure that accommodates both source of expenditure cues as well as 

type of expenditure cues. For example, we believe that a diary that facilitates 

entry of information based on a respondent’s preference (a single filtering 

question) is more likely to encourage data capture than an approach that 

requires adherence to a preconceived notion of categories of items. Furthermore, 

use of receipts follows a ‘source’ format rather than a ‘type’ format. Additionally, 

the landscape of where and what purchases are made have changed 

dramatically since the late 1960s, when the initial CE diary structure research 

was conducted (Sudman and Ferber 1971). For some purchases, a respondent 

may want to begin the recording process by answering a “what” question, with 

subsequent questions moving down a hierarchy until the necessary level of detail 

is recorded (e.g., what, fresh/frozen/bottled/canned/other, gift vs. not a gift, for 

males/females, age ranges). However, just as likely is a respondent who sits 

down to record expenditures from a “big box” shopping trip where the diary may 

only point to a receipt that has been scanned. Furthermore, it expands the 

information for ‘source’ currently collected in the diary of where food and drinks 

away from home were purchased (fast food/ full service/ vending machine/ 

cafeteria) to other items. We note that these are different from the Point of 

Purchase questions added to the April 2011 CEQ (Brattland 2011) in that the 

source questions would be integrated throughout the questionnaire as a memory 

cue, not simply an additional section to use as a benchmark for another survey. 

Income and asset questions in the CE are currently obtained through the 

Interview. We recommend a similar approach to gathering this information. The 

CE data users indicate discrepancies in income and taxes relative to national 

benchmarks (Henderson et al. 2010). Importantly, data users indicate a 

mismatch between the reference period for expenditures (currently three months) 

and for income (currently one year). We recommend collecting from all CU’s the 

past month’s income in the diary placement interview and the equipment retrieval 

interview. Thus, one-month change can be estimated within CUs, as well as 

obtaining income from the month for which expenditures are collected. To 
39 

potentially improve reporting of income items, we recommend using similar sets 

of ‘memory triggers’ as described below for expenditures. 

We also recommend collecting past 12 month income from all CUs, as in 

the current’s design reference period, to facilitate analyses at the annual income 

level. Although this will suffer the same issues of not being contemporaneous 

with the diary data collection period as in the current design, it will match the data 

collection period for the panel cases at the time of the third interview (as with the 

fifth interview now). It will also be temporally prior to current expenditures, thus 

facilitating causal modeling. 

Additional Inputs to CU Diary

In addition to the use of a tablet for the recording of expenditures via a 

“diary” we recommend supplementing the direct entry of items with electronic 

capture of individual items and receipts. With respect to the capture of individual 

items, we would recommend the integration of a barcode reader with the tablet. 

Although the camera capabilities of most tablets allows the device to serve as a 

barcode reader, the size of the tablet in most cases makes it a bit awkward for 

use as a barcode reader. We have explored both the use of barcode readers 

that are stand-alone devices (e.g., Scanfob 2002 Mobile Wireless Laser Scanner, 

http://serialio.com/products/scanner/mobile/Scanfob_2002.php) and various 

existing apps for Android and iOS devices (e.g., Barcode Scanner; RedLaser; 

ShopSavvy). All of these devices and apps read UPC codes and/or QR codes. 

The major advantage of stand-alone scanners is the ease of use and the storage 

capacity of the devices –for example, the Scanfob has the capacity to scan and 

store up to 20,000 barcoded items, batch uploading via Bluetooth to an iOS or 

Android-based device, with software that can be modified for specific uses via 

the SerialMagic API.24

 

24 We are not recommending a particular tablet, barcode reader, or scanning hardware or 

application. Rather the discussion is intended to offer illustrative examples of the capabilities that 

currently exist. 

 The major advantage of utilizing apps for Android and 

iOS devices is the potential familiarity with the apps among the population. In 

addition, placement of a device such as an iPod Touch with a CU for the 
40 

purposes of scanning also provides the CU with an additional device that can be 

used as a portable diary by one of the CU members. 

The major advantage of the use of a barcode reader is the capture of 

detailed information for those items with a barcode; the major disadvantage is 

that the barcode data do not include price information. The ability to modify the 

barcode data with information about costs would need to be developed.

We also recommend the integration of either a receipt reader with the 

tablet or a stand-alone scanner for electronic capture of receipts. For example, 

ProOnGo (www.proongo.com) allows users to electronically capture receipts and 

store the receipts via an Excel spreadsheet. The app includes a secure web 

portal for emailing receipts and offers users support to organize their expenses in 

so as to be most useful for the user. Similarly, hardware such as NeatReceipts 

allows for the scanning of receipts and the conversion of those receipts to 

spreadsheets. Although software can create expense reports from the receipts 

the expense reports include the total costs, not the itemized costs. 

A major advantage of the use of receipt scanners is that they capture 

details about the item (albeit in an abbreviated format), cost of the individual 

items, and the details associated with discounts and coupons. Some mechanism 

–either electronic or human --- would need to convert scanned receipts to a 

listing (and associated cost) of individual items. The current CE diary tells 

respondents ‘we need you to actually write the information in the diary.’ Receipt 

scanners, however, permit flexibility in who enters the information from the 

receipt itself. In fact, with electronic data collection, interviewers or data entry 

staff could update the CU’s diary with information from the receipts, even if the 

CU does not enter it, and not have to spend time at the CU’s housing unit.

Use of both barcode readers and electronic capture of receipts has been 

shown to be feasible and efficient means for capturing expenditure data 

(Leicester and Oldfield 2009; Matulewicz et al. 2011). The integration of 

scanners, barcode readers, and tablets for diary data collection is one area for 

which we recommend methodological investigations. 
41 

CU Reporters 

To minimize reliance on proxy reports, we are encouraging all adults in the 

CU to serve as diarists. Previous research indicates that reporting by more than 

one CU member results in higher estimates of expenditures for the household, 

especially with respect to clothing and personal care expenditures (e.g., 

Grootaert 1986). Previous research conducted by BLS also suggests that with 

respect to the number of diarists within a CU, one size may not fit all (Edgar 

2006); however, to the extent possible we recommend self-reporting, with 

exceptions made for those CUs that strongly self-advocate for the use of a single 

diarist. The U.K. experience as well as the experience in other countries such as 

Australia (Trewin 2006) suggests that it is feasible to engage multiple 

respondents successfully within sampled CUs. 

In addition, we recommend the use of a simple portable paper diary25

Field Procedures 

for 

young consumers, those 7 to 15 years of age. The UK experience suggests that 

inclusion of these children’s expenditures had significant impacts on the 

expenditure estimates for particular categories of expenditures (Horsfield 2010). 

These paper diaries would be collected by the interviewers and entered by BLS 

to maintain confidentiality of the children’s purchases and to alleviate extra 

burden on the primary CU reporter.

Sampled CUs would be recruited so as to begin serving as diarists at the 

start of the week following placement of the diary materials (although we note 

that in the U.K., diarists are to begin recording on the day following recruitment). 

To encourage compliance, we would recommend calls by the interviewer early in 

the first week of serving as a diarist as well as the provision of telephone-based 

help lines and online “help” support. The Australian experience has interviewers 

check with diarists between the second and fourth day of the first week of 

recording (Trewin 2006); in the U.K., interviewers are encourage to make a 

 

25 Consider allowing children ages 7 to 15 to also have an ID that allows them to enter their data 

via the electronic diary. Nothing precludes allowing these children and adolescents from utilizing 

technology for the real time capture of their expenditures, but to date, we know of no field 

experience with such a design. 
42 

“checking call” after the first shopping trip, on or about day 3 of the first week 

(Horsfield 2010).

A critical component of the initial interview is the training of the CU 

members – especially the primary CU “purchaser.” We envision interviewers 

bringing a “market basket” of goods, service bills, and receipts with them so as to 

demonstrate and train respondents in how to use the computer and peripheral 

equipment. Current practices include the use of video training, face to face 

individual training, group training sessions, and technical support and retraining 

via telephone (Trewin 2006; Link et al. 2011 Matulewicz et al. 2011). However, 

the literature is silent with respect to how best train respondents in the use of 

multiple technologies, especially when all respondents will most likely not be 

present for the initial interview. The lack of empirical investigations with respect 

to effective and efficient strategies suggest that here, too, BLS would be best 

served by experimentation prior to finalizing a respondent training protocol.

We recommend a flexible interface with the CU during the diary month. 

For some CUs, we believe that multiple face to face contacts to encourage 

participation and to provide further training and answering questions will be 

beneficial. Other CUs may require little assistance or encouragement during the 

diary month. An advantage of a web-based data collection system is that 

compliance with the task can be monitored and interventions and encouragement 

based on the level of activity, the compliance across CU members, and the 

demographic composition of the CU. Recent research has shown that feedback 

and probing can be used on open-ended questions in web surveys to result in an 

improvement in data quality (Oudejans and Christian 2011). Thus, we 

recommend a multi-pronged strategy, with real-time feedback built into the web 

or tablet instrument and follow-ups for CUs who have less experience with 

technology, who show lower compliance, or who request additional assistance.

The diary period would conclude with a face to face interview shortly after 

the end of the month-long panel. The interview would serve multiple purposes: 

(1) to collect the data collection equipment; (2) to administer retrospective 

questions on topics that are prone to underreporting in the diary, for example, 
43 

monthly payments of mortgages, utilities, or automatic payments; and (3) to 

review the materials for completeness, with options to administer retrospective 

question modules as necessary and to disentangle scanned receipts into 

individual, codeable items. Figure 2 summarizes the field procedure protocol as 

outlined here.

Figure 2: Diary Questionnaire Implementation Procedures

Memory Triggers 

As a means for minimizing the reliance on retrospective recall, our design 

recommends the use of a “portable” diary for all adults ages 16 and older for 

which the form of the diary is determined by the individual CU member. A recent 

study found that 83% of U.S. adults own some type of cellphone and that 73% of 

cellphone owners use text messaging (Pew 2010). There is a growing body of 

empirical literature the demonstrates the feasibility of using cellphones, 

smartphones, and PDAs for “real time” capture of behavioral data – via pictures, 

Interviewers contact 

CU and establish 

eligibility

Initial interview: CUlevel characteristics + 

training

Diary placement and 

initial completion: 

Week 1

Week 2: Diary 

completion; Followup calls

Week 3: Diary 

completion; Followup calls

Week 4: Diary 

completion; Followup calls

Day 30: I'ers pick up 

equipment, review 

receipts, final 

questionnaire
44 

audio recordings to oneself, and text or voice messages (e.g., Palen and 

Salzman 2002; Hosoe 2005; Marceau et al. 2007; Arens et al. 2008; Sun et al. 

2010; Palmblad and Tiplady 2004). These “portable” diaries are intended to 

capture bits of data to serve as memory cues for the respondent to use when 

entering data into the diary. With respect to these memory triggers, we 

recommend a broad range of modes of data capture be offered – small paper 

diaries, interactive voice recognition “drop boxes” (where respondents can dial in 

and record information about purchases), smartphone apps for voice or picture 

“diaries” of locations or purchases. As with the use of financial tracking software, 

here we advocate for a flexible design that reflects the technological facileness 

and comfort level of individual CU members and which builds on whatever 

means they may already be using to track expenses.

26

Electronic receipts for internet purchases, for brick and mortar purchases, 

and for services rendered, offer a convenient means of data capture. How best 

to take advantage of these receipts? Once again, our recommendation is to 

minimize the need for the CU respondents to have to re-enter data that are 

already in an electronic form. As with scanned receipts, the most efficient 

approach (from the perspective of the respondent) may be to have the capability 

to upload such receipts directly to the diary data record. Another means by 

which to capture these electronic receipts may be to have a secure file location 

where each CU member can forward his or her receipts, tag them, and then 

reference that tag in their diary entry for the day. Although this puts additional 

work in the hands of the interviewer or a coder, it reduces the burden for the 

respondent.

For those CUs that already monitor expenditures, here we advocate for a 

flexible design. The goal in developing a flexible design is to utilize the data that 

are already captured by the CU (hence reducing redundancy in data collection 

efforts) while capturing the full range of expenditures of interest to BLS. The 

2011 Consumer Financial Literacy Survey (Harris Interactive Inc. 2011) found 

 

26In addition to using electronic records as memory devices, we believe it is feasible for many of 

these electronic records to be imported directly to a diary-based record. 
45 

that 43% of adults in the U.S. have a budget and keep close track of their 

spending, although no data were collected on the use of software to monitor 

expenses. Data from a YouGov survey (self-selected sample) indicate that 40% 

of those with mobile phones, smartphones, or tablets use mobile banking 

services (Antenna 2011). In its review of financial software, Westat (2011) noted 

that financial tracking software contain several features that are relevant to the 

CE: registers that display transactions and amounts, interfaces that facilitate 

downloading data from financial institutions, and the ability to split and label 

transactions into identifiable, individual items (e.g., the Target receipt for personal 

care items and clothes can be decomposed). Financial tracking software is also 

available for use with smartphones, allowing real time entry for those 

respondents attempting to monitor their expenditures. For example, mint.com 

provides a point-of-purchase application that allows users to record at the time of 

the purchase and directly input those data to the financial management software. 

To the extent that some households are, in essence, already capturing CE data, 

every effort should be made to translate these data to a format usable to the CE.

How best to do this and meet the needs of the CE is one area for which we 

suggest further investigation (see Section IV).

To improve the reporting of income sources, we recommend using 

multiple record sources to collect information about income as well. Since the 

information will be collected at the end of the diary data collection period, the CU 

has the opportunity to organize records and record the information along the 

way. In fact, the CU can be told to simply keep records for anything related to 

money coming into the household or leaving the household, thus unifying the two 

concepts with one task. For example, a waitress could record tips in her pocket 

diary at the end of her shift, a professional could forward an electronic pay 

statement to their electronic study email account, and a small business owner 

could use output from their business financial software to output relevant 

information for the month. In this way, the task at hand for income is not 

meaningfully different from expenditures, although it may be more sensitive. 

Because of this, two approaches could be used. First, the interviewer could 
46 

directly ask about a variety of income sources and taxes paid as currently done 

in the survey. Before they leave, the CU could also complete a final selfadministered interview where they are again asked about income in an attempt to 

overcome the sensitivity of the topic (e.g., Tourangeau and Smith 1996). 

Engaging the Respondent

The request made of selected consumer units is not trivial. We 

recommend that the BLS investigate the use of incentives, feedback 

mechanisms, or both, as part of the field protocol to be used for the CE. The 

literature demonstrates that incentives are effective and efficient (e.g., Singer 

2002) while the precedence for the use of incentives exists both for Federal 

expenditure surveys in other countries (Horsfield 2010) and for high burden U.S. 

Federal surveys The U.K. pays each adult respondent 10£ and children who 

maintain diaries 5£. Nielsen Homescan panel members are not offered 

incentives but rather earn “points” that can be redeemed for merchandise. The 

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) offers an incentive 

for participating in the medical examination portion of the study, once again, 

offering the incentive at the person level, not the household level, so as to 

improve participation among all household members. 

How else can the CE work with respondents and engage them in the 

process of providing this valuable data? One means of engagement may be to 

provide respondents with feedback concerning expenditures. Findings from the 

2011 Consumer Financial Literacy Survey indicate that 42% of adults give 

themselves a grade of C or lower with respect to knowledge about personal 

finance and 76% feel they could benefit from financial advice and answers to 

everyday financial questions (Harris Interactive 2011). NHANES provides 

respondents who participate in the medical examination portion of the survey 

with a report of medical findings, thus providing some feedback of potential 

benefit to the respondent. Feedback to the CU could include a summary of their 

expenditures by major item, changes in their expenditures over the course of the 

month, and perhaps comparison to other households of similar size, region, and 
47 

household composition. Although we are not advocating for BLS to provide 

financial advice, the responses to the Consumer Financial Literacy Survey

suggest that there may be opportunities for information exchange between the 

data collector and the data provider. Here, we do not have a concrete 

recommendation but rather encourage BLS to engage with CU respondents to 

learn what means of engagement or feedback information would be of value to 

those CUs. 

C. Alternative Data Sources

Regardless of the extent to which technology is incorporated in the data 

collection process, the CE is and will remain a burdensome survey in which to 

participate. How can BLS effectively use alternative data sources to either 

reduce respondent burden or improve estimation? We address the uses of 

alternative data sources with respect to issues related to nonresponse in Section 

V. In this section, we discuss various uses of alternative survey and 

administrative data as a means of reducing respondent burden or for purposes of 

assessment of measurement error.

Alternative survey and administrative data can be used for two broadly 

defined purposes: (1) at an aggregate level to serve as benchmarks (a ‘top down’ 

approach; Heimovitz 2003) or (2) at the micro-level for purposes of 

supplementing or replacing CE data (a ‘bottom up’ approach; Heimovitz 2003). 

With respect to micro-level use, further consideration must be given to direct 

linking of records or data (that is, at the person or household/CU level) or 

synthetic linkage, whereby CE data are augmented with data from statistically 

“similar” consumer units or individuals. 

The use of administrative records to augment survey data is a growing 

area within survey methodology (e.g., Statistics Netherlands 2000). Studies 

indicate significant issues in direct linkage of survey and administrative records, 

governmental and not, ranging from difficulties obtaining consent to do the 
48 

linkage to inaccuracies in the linkage itself (Raghnathan and Van Hoewyk no 

year; Heimowitz 2003; Jenkins et al. 2004; Sakshaug 2011). 

Except for those cases in which direct linkage at the micro-level is 

possible (e.g., direct acquisition of a respondent’s bank account or credit card 

records, tax return, or records of transfer benefits), a CE design that attempts to 

reduce respondent burden through the use of alternative sources of expenditure 

data moves BLS away from a single, integrated data source that is desired by 

both CPI and outside data users. It also potentially decreases timeliness. 

Given the current state of the field (both with respect to quality of data 

linkages and quality of administrative record sources), our recommendation at 

this time is to consider use of alterative data sources not directly but rather as 

benchmark data to gain greater understanding of measurement error, 

nonresponse error, or both.27

At least three Federal surveys provide detailed information that could be 

utilized by BLS as either alternative sources of CE-type data or as benchmarks. 

The three surveys are the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), the 

National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey (FOODAPS), and the 

Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS). Each of these surveys collects 

detailed information at the dwelling unit or household unit level with respect to 

expenditures for medical expenses, food, and energy use, respectfully. 

The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey is a set of large-scale surveys of 

families and individuals, their medical providers (doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, 

etc.), and employers across the United States. MEPS collects data on the 

specific health services that Americans use, how frequently they use them, the 

cost of these services, and how they are paid for, as well as data on the cost, 

scope, and breadth of health insurance held by and available to U.S. workers. 

MEPS currently consists of two major components: the Household Component 

and the Insurance Component. During the household interviews, MEPS collects 

detailed information for each person in the household on the following: 

 

27 We of course recognize that none of the data sources discussed in this section are a true gold 

standard. As is true for all administrative and survey data, each is subject to various sources of 

error that must be evaluated before its use or integration with CE.
49 

demographic characteristics, health conditions, health status, use of medical 

services, charges and source of payments, access to care, satisfaction with care, 

health insurance coverage, income, and employment. The Insurance Component 

collects data from a sample of private and public sector employers on the health 

insurance plans they offer their employees. The survey is also known as the 

Health Insurance Cost Study. The collected data include the number and types of 

private insurance plans offered (if any), premiums, contributions by employers 

and employees, eligibility requirements, benefits associated with these plans, 

and employer characteristics. 

The National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey 

(FoodAPS) will provide detailed data about household food choices. FoodAPS 

will be a nationally representative survey of household food purchases and 

acquisitions. Detailed information will be collected about foods purchased for 

consumption at home and away from home as well as foods acquired through 

food and nutrition assistance programs (both public and private). Of primary 

interest to the CE program is the focus of the survey on the quantities, prices, 

and expenditures for all at-home and away-from-home foods and beverages 

purchased and acquired from all sources. The sample size, however, is 

anticipated to be relatively small (and therefore may not meet the needs of the 

CE program) collecting information from up to 3,500 low-income and 1,500 

higher income households and, to our knowledge, will be a one-time survey. 

The Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) (conducted by the 

Energy Information Agency) collects data on energy use from a nationally 

representative sample of housing units. Information is collected on energy 

characteristics of the housing unit, usage patterns, and household demographics. 

This information is combined with data from energy suppliers to these homes to 

estimate energy costs and usage for heating, cooling, appliances and other end 

uses. First conducted in 1978, the thirteenth RECS was conducted in 2009. The 

2009 survey collected data from 12,083 households in housing units statistically 

selected to represent the 113.6 million housing units that are occupied as a 

primary residence. 
50 

Direct use of any of these surveys would involve surmounting issues of 

definitional compatibility and reference period correspondence; consideration of 

use of these records at the micro-level involves further issues concerning data 

sharing across Federal agencies. As such, we consider these as sources for 

aggregate benchmarks rather than sources for micro-level data.

Beyond data available from Federal surveys which focus directly on some 

aspect of household expenditures, there are numerous data sources which could 

be used to supplement or assess CE data. Customer loyalty programs offer one 

such data source; several studies have incorporated the use of this type of data 

to examine measurement error in consumer expenditure surveys (e.g., Einav et 

al. 2008). Some market segments offer data sources that aggregate across 

distributors, to produce national level estimates of utilization and expenditures, 

the best example of which is IMS Health, which aggregates prescription medicine 

expenditures across more than 50,000 pharmacies (IMS 2011). Various 

corporations collect consumer expenditure data – the best examples of which are 

the Nielsen HomeScan Data, now the National Consumer Panel 

(http://www.ncppanel.com/) and the Experian Simmons National Consumer 

Study (Experian 2011). Other firms provide aggregate data and analysis of 

particular market segments (e.g., CardData, Acxiom). These studies collect 

information on types and brands of various consumer goods; Nielsen Homescan 

also collects information on prices. The samples on which these data are based 

vary widely -- from self-selected samples to national probability based sample 

designs -- as do the data collection methodologies (paper diaries to high tech 

barcode scanning of all items brought into the household). 

To what extent would data from commercial vendors of consumer 

expenditures be of use to BLS? After reviewing data quality evaluations of these 

various data sources (e.g., Einav, Leibtag and Nevo 2010), we do not 

recommend any one of these data sources as a replacement or supplement to 

the CE. Rather they offer data that may, for particular expenditure categories 

offer further insight into consumption patterns not possible with the CE data and 

thus be suggestive of information to include in nonresponse adjustments and 
51 

monitoring for data quality issues. For example, comparisons of the Homescan 

file with grocery store records show that location, type, and quantity of purchase 

have relatively high correspondence with store records, but the price does not. 

The mismatch between reported and store data appears to be due both to the 

consumer and to imputation errors. Households who reported the number of trips 

made to retail outlets accurately were smaller households, those with fewer 

children, married, and those in which the female was not fully employed and had 

lower levels of education, on average (Einav, Leibtag and Nevo 2010). 

D. Risks

The most significant risk associated with our recommended design relates 

to the extension of the diary period, from a two week period to a one month 

period. At present, there are no contemporary empirical data (of which we are 

aware) that addresses (experimentally) the impact of an extension of the 

participation period for a national consumer expenditure survey. There are clearly 

examples of panelists in private sector consumer studies who participate for 

periods far in excess of a month; whether that level of compliance can be 

obtained in a Federal data collection effort is key to the success of the 

recommended design. The importance of this feature – coupled with the lack of 

experimental or even observational data – is why we strongly recommend the 

methodological investigations concerning compliance outlined in Section IV.

There are also significant risks associated with the implementation of our 

design at the operational level. Is it feasible to place tablet technology in 

households for a month? What is the failure rate for the various pieces of 

electronic equipment and the communication among these devices? How 

durable is the equipment? What security measures need to be put in place both 

with respect to the physical equipment as well as the electronic capture of 

information? Much of the research that places technology with participants for a 

longer period of time is of small samples or highly engaged populations (e.g., 

Cook et al. 2011; Lai et al. 2010).
52 

The third major area of risk associated with our design recommendation 

concerns the data user. We are cognizant that some users require quarterly and 

annual estimates of total spending by a consumer unit (e.g., Department of 

Defense; see Henderson et al. 2010). Balancing the needs of various users is 

probably the most difficult task facing BLS. We have chosen to give highest (and 

to some extent) sole priority to the improvement of the data for the CPI. One 

could consider a number of permutations to our recommended design that would 

facilitate meeting these non-CPI users’ needs, but they all come at significant 

costs. For example, shifting the recall period from a three month recall to a one 

month recall, coupled with extensive encouragement of retention of receipts and 

interviewing CUs every month for three months, then nine months off, followed 

by a second three-month panel period would provide the Department of Defense 

with the quarterly data they need and would provide users with year to year 

assessments of CU-level change in expenditures. The one month recall could be 

validated against the one-month diary period, under the assumption that the diary 

provides a more accurate picture of expenditures. We considered multiple 

design options so as to meet the calendar year data; none of the options we 

considered provided BLS with a cost-effective means by which to capture these 

data while reducing measurement error associated with retrospective recall.
53 

IV. Methodological Investigations to Support Design Decision

The recommended design outlined in Section III represents a radical 

departure from the current CE survey. We have attempted to support our 

recommendations with citations from the empirical and theoretical literature, as 

well as our understanding of best practices currently in use. However, much of 

the empirical literature on which we base our recommendations is dated and 

often times references survey tasks quite dissimilar to the task facing 

respondents to the consumer expenditure survey. In addition, some of our 

recommendations are based on cutting edge practices for which there is not an 

experimental or empirical literature to reference. We recognize that the original 

request for proposals indicated that recommendations for methodological 

investigations were to be held to a minimum. We have attempted to honor that 

requirement, but we feel we would be remiss as methodologists if we failed to 

point out where our recommendations are weakest with respect to current 

empirical knowledge. 

Our recommended design outlines the need for further investigation and 

experimentation with respect to the following key features of the redesigned 

Consumer Expenditure Survey:

• Length of the diary period and effects of the use of technology;

• The design of respondent training protocols; and

• The extent and level of incentives.

Apart from these key design features, we recommend smaller studies to 

examine the following factors: 

• The use of multiple formats of memory trigger diaries;

• The level and frequency of interviewer-respondent interaction over the 

diary month;

• The integration and use of respondents’ financial management and 

tracking systems so as to reduce respondent burden; and

• The incorporation of feedback mechanisms for responding consumer 

units.
54 

To address the three key design features, we offer below investigations 

we believe would be informative to BLS as it moves toward a redesigned 

expenditure survey. We have attempted to be cost efficient by designing the 

experiments described below so as to also serve as feasibility studies. 

 

Experiment #1: Length of Diary and Effect of Technology Experiments

The design recommended above calls for a diary recording time that is 

significantly longer and significantly different than the current CE diary 

instrument. Given the costs involved with training the consumer unit to use the 

tablet as a data collection instrument and the desire of data users to have more 

information on each household, we believe that this design will be a reasonable 

balance of survey errors and survey costs. However, early research (e.g., 

Sudman and Ferber 1971; Sudman and Bradburn 1973) suggested that a four 

week diary may be too long for consumer units to reliably comply with the 

request to record information in the diary. Because this experiment will be used 

to establish the length of the diary, it is important to disentangle the effect of the 

diary length from the effect of technology. That is, does the electronic diary 

proposed here do better or worse than a comparable paper diary of the same 

length. We believe that these two factors should be fully crossed to examine the 

main effects and interaction effects. 

The following two experimental factors are: 

1. The length of the diary data collection period: 1 week, 2 weeks, 4 

weeks, or 6 weeks

2. Electronic diary vs. paper diary

 

Factor A: Length of the diary field period

In this experimental factor, the consumer unit will be asked to record the 

diary for one week, two consecutive weeks, four consecutive weeks or six 

consecutive weeks. At the beginning of the interview, consumer units will be 

instructed that they will need to record expenses in the tablet diary. The tasks 

will be identical for each of the weeks, but will vary in total length. We anticipate 
55 

that compliance will fall as the length of the diary time increases. To understand 

whether four weeks is the maximum amount of time, this factor increases the 

diary period to six weeks for a random sample of households. 

In particular, the first experimental feature would be as follows:

Group 1: Interviewers conduct the initial interview as outlined Section III above. 

The tablet with the web diary or the current paper diary28

Group 2: Interviewers conduct the initial interview as outlined in Section III 

above. The tablet with the web diary or the current paper diary is placed 

in the CU. The CU is instructed to record all expenditures for a total of 

two weeks. Interviewers make follow-up calls as appropriate to 

encourage participation. The interviewer returns on day 14 to collect the 

equipment/diaries and conduct the final interview. 

 is placed in the 

CU. The CU is instructed to record all expenditures for a total of one 

week. Interviewers make follow-up calls as appropriate to encourage 

participation. The interviewer returns on day 7 to collect the 

equipment/diaries and conduct the final interview. 

Group 3: Interviewers conduct the initial interview as outlined in Section III

above. The tablet with the web diary or the current paper diary is placed 

in the CU. The CU is instructed to record all expenditures for a total of 

two weeks. Interviewers make follow-up calls as appropriate to 

encourage participation. The interviewer returns on day 28 to collect the 

equipment/diaries and conduct the final interview. 

Group 4: Interviewers conduct the initial interview as outlined in Section III 

above. The tablet with the web diary or the current paper diary is placed 

in the CU. The CU is instructed to record all expenditures for a total of 

two weeks. Interviewers make follow-up calls as appropriate to 

encourage participation. The interviewer returns on day 42 to collect the 

equipment/diaries and conduct the final interview. 

 

28 We recommend the use of the current paper diary to reduce costs associated with developing 

both a computer/web-based instrument and a revised paper document. 
56 

Factor B: Mode of diary

Group 1: Tablet diary: Respondents are given the tablet diary with the webbased questionnaire, scanner and bar code reader described above.

Group 2: Paper diary: Respondents are given the current paper diary.

Practical Insights into the New Design: A major unknown is whether CUs will 

comply with the task of keeping expenditure and income records in an electronic 

diary for four weeks. It is also unknown how a shift from a paper and pencil diary 

to an electronic diary system will affect participation and data quality. That is, 

this task is substantially different from the current design in that it is both longer 

and electronic. As such, this experiment permits disentangling the effect of length 

from the effect of technology through experimental design. 

As with the feasibility laboratory study described below, outcomes to be 

examined include durability of the equipment, rate of failure of the devices during 

the diary period and whether the failure rate changes as the diary reporting 

period increases, and safety/security of leaving equipment of this value in CU 

members’ homes. Other study-related outcomes could include diary cooperation 

rates per week, item missing rates, number of goods reported, number of 

receipts scanned; number of items with bar code readers used; number of ereceipts sent to email; number of individual diaries used; and total dollar amount 

reported in each expenditure category, following data quality indicators 

recommended by Gonzalez, et al. (2009).

Estimated Financial and Time Requirements: 

Early research (Sudman and Ferber 1971) indicated that cumulative 

response rates fell by roughly 10 percentage points for each additional week of 

keeping a diary. Simple random samples of about size n=400 for each main 

effect would be sufficient to detect a difference in response rates of 60% and 

50% at an alpha<.05 level with power at least 0.8. If, however, the difference is 

only 5 percentage points (e.g., 50% and 55%), then samples of size n=1565 are 

needed in each group for the main effects. With the latter in mind, and assuming 

that pairwise comparisons of the main effects of each factor are of interest rather 
57 

than simply tests of overall effects, this would recommend a simple random 

sample size of roughly 6300 to detect differences between these eight groups of 

5 percentage points. 

Assume, based on the power calculations above, a sample of size 6300 

CUs is selected and evenly divided between the eight fully-crossed treatments. 

This yields n=787 or n=788cases in each cell. We assume that initial compliance 

rates differ somewhat between the four treatments for the first experimental 

factor of length (Sudman and Ferber 1971), but have no clear expectations for 

the second experimental factor of technology on nonresponse. For purposes of 

planning, we assume that the initial compliance for Group 1 is 80%, for Group 2 

is 75%, for Group 3 is 70% and for Group 4 is also 70%. This would yield 1260 

initial respondents in Group 1, 1182 in Group 2, and 1102 to 1104 each in 

Groups 3 and 4, for a total of 4648 initial respondents. The size of the initial pool 

is important for cost reasons; we anticipate that the final cumulative compliance 

rates for Groups 2, 3, and 4 will fall by 5 to 10 percentage points per week. See 

Table 2 for a summary of this design.

Table 2: Expected Sample Size for the Eight Length by Mode Experimental 

Cells

1 week 2 weeks 4 weeks 6 weeks Total

Electronic 787 cases; 

630 initial Rs 

787 cases; 

591 initial Rs

788 cases; 

552 initial Rs

788 cases; 

551 initial Rs

3150 cases; 

2324 initial Rs

Paper 788 cases; 

630 initial Rs

788 cases; 

591 initial Rs

787 cases; 

552 initial Rs

787 cases; 

551 initial Rs

3150 cases; 

2324 initial Rs

Total 1585 cases; 

1260 initial Rs

1585 cases; 

1182 initial Rs 

1585 cases; 

1104 initial Rs

1585 cases; 

1102 initial Rs

6300 cases; 

4648 initial Rs

What about power to detect differences in reporting among the 

respondents? It is difficult to know what is an appropriate effect size to use for 

power calculations in this experiment. Edgar (2010) found that respondents in the 

CE report an average number of 29.4 items with a standard deviation 17.5 items. 

Assuming that the within-cell standard deviation for the number of items is equal 

to 17.5 items (Edgar 2010), and that there are 581 respondents per cell (4648/8; 
58 

we acknowledge that the actual design will be unbalanced due to differential 

nonresponse as outlined in Table 2), then we could detect an interaction effect 

between the length of reporting and mode of data collection of 4 items with power 

of 0.81. 29

Cost in this experimental factor is driven by the cost of acquiring the 

tablets, barcode readers, and scanning equipment and programming the 

surveys. Our current estimates of the cost of this equipment (see Section VI 

below) for retail prices, not including bulk or government discounts, is $900 to 

$1500 for all of the pieces of equipment per CU. With 4648 total responding CUs, 

this yields a total equipment cost for this experiment to be between $4 million and 

$7 million should all equipment be used simultaneously. Of course, this 

investment in equipment is not for naught, as the equipment, should it be 

feasible, will be rolled into the main study.

As in the approach of the first feasibility study described below and to 

reduce overall initial investment costs, the sample could be released in replicates 

for four consecutive months. This would reduce the total number of expected 

respondents to be 4648/4 = 1162 respondents, with a corresponding reduction in 

the number of tablets, scanners and barcode readers to purchase. In this design, 

then there would be approximately 145 persons per experimental cell per month. 

This approach would reduce the cost of equipment for the study to roughly $1 

million to $1.7 million. 

Assuming a cost of $325 per completed interview, the total field 

interviewing cost would be around $1.5 million.

Are these costs too large for a field test? We harken to criticism of 

attempts to integrate technology into the 2010 and for previous ‘pilot’ designs that 

confound methodological factors and fail to do power calculations Census (see, 

e.g., Brown, Cohen, Cork and Citro 2010, pp. 71-73). Our recommendations here 

follow those presented in a previous CNSTAT panel’s report on the 2010 

Census, in which we have identified function rather than actual form. We have no 

 

29 We note that other estimands and other analyses will have different power calculations. We 

focus on the total number of items as one important data quality metric that we expect to be 

affected by the design, using a ‘more is better’ heuristic. 
59 

way of knowing what the future will hold in terms of tablet computers or if they will 

morph into yet another form of technology. However, a set of technology that can 

do these tasks is likely to save costs in the long-run, especially related to postsurvey processing and data entry. 

We have also attempted, using the best data we have available, to 

estimate sample sizes for this experiment with reasonable amount of statistical 

power that permits important scientific questions to be answered. The reason 

that these two factors are experimentally crossed is that the length of the diary 

and use of technology decision are the two ways in which this design differs from 

the current CE. Any study that examines one of them without the other fails to 

unconfound these factors from the current design. 

 

Experiment #2: Technology Training

This study will permit an initial laboratory-based feasibility evaluation of 

the tablet computers as well as methods for training respondents. How to train 

sampled consumer units to use the tablet and scanner for recording their 

information is also an open question. The organizations we contacted and 

literature we reviewed either used in person training (Nielsen in South Africa; 

RTI; FOODAPPS experience) or DVDs or videos (Nielsen in the US;). The CE is 

a large, national US survey with, we hypothesize, a more heterogeneous 

population than examined in these previous studies (e.g., larger sample of 

elderly). We anticipate that some consumer units will need extensive training, 

while others will catch on right away. To test this, we propose a laboratory-based

experimental test of the following three training methods:

Group 1: Video: In this method, a brief (15 minute) video training session will be 

preloaded on the tablet computers. Each consumer unit will be instructed 

on the basics of keeping records, scanning receipts, reading bar codes, 

emailing e-receipts, calling the in-bound IVR line, and entering information 

into the diary. Consumer units will be able to access the video instructions, 

along with a text document containing the video’s script, at any time. The 

video will demonstrate how to enter a “market basket” of goods, service 
60 

bills, and receipts using the tablet computer and peripheral equipment. 

Interviewers will be present while the video is playing, but will not actually 

instruct the respondents on how to use the tablet.

Group 2: In person, basic: In this method, interviewers will provide each 

consumer unit with a brief (15 minute) training session on how to use the 

tablet computer and other survey tasks. As in the video, each consumer 

unit will be instructed on the basics of keeping records, scanning receipts, 

reading bar codes, emailing e-receipts, calling the in-bound IVR line, and 

entering information into the diary. Consumer units will be given a text 

document containing the basic instructions. The interviewer will 

demonstrate how to enter a “market basket” of goods, service bills, and 

receipts in how the tablet computer and peripheral equipment, but will not 

engage in extensive one-on-one time with the consumer unit using the 

tablet.

Group 3: In person, extended: In this method, interviewers will provide each 

consumer unit with an extended (30-45 minute) training session on how to 

use the tablet computer and other survey tasks. As in the video and brief 

training, each consumer unit will be instructed on the basics of keeping 

records, scanning receipts, reading bar codes, emailing e-receipts, calling 

the in-bound IVR line, and entering information into the diary. Consumer 

units will be given a text document containing the basic instructions. 

Interviewers will demonstrate how to use the tablet. The interviewer will 

demonstrate how to enter a “market basket” of goods, service bills, and 

receipts in how the tablet computer and peripheral equipment. They will 

also engage in practice sessions with the respondent, showing them how 

to scan a practice receipt, asking them to call in to the inbound IVR line to 

practice memory cues, and walking through entering information in a 

practice diary from three receipts from different locations. 

Laboratory evaluation: The laboratory evaluation consists of three steps. First, a 

convenience sample of respondents will be recruited to come into the laboratory. 
61 

These laboratory respondents are randomly assigned to one of the three training 

treatments above. The protocol in the laboratory will be as follows: 

Step 1: Administer the first questionnaire for the field data collection to ‘set 

the stage’ and obtain the same information as would be collected in the 

full protocol as described above.

Step 2: Administer the assigned training method, described above, to 

introduce the respondent to the technology.

Step 3: Immediately following the training, provide respondents with a set 

of items, records and receipts to enter into the diary. These items, records 

and receipts should reflect approximately the number of items and types 

of items purchased during a normal week of diary keeping, using the 

current CE diary and interview as a guide to identify relevant items. For 

example, this could include a few sacks of groceries, bags from a 

warehouse or multi-category retail ‘big box’ store including purchases that 

fall into a variety of categories (such as Costco, Walmart, Sam’s Club 

and/or Target), a receipt for a haircut, utility bills, mortgage or rent bills, 

gasoline receipts, paychecks, and bank statements that reflect automatic 

transfer payments. The respondent will be instructed to scan items using 

the barcode scanner, scan receipts, and complete the appropriate 

sections of the diary. Since the items and receipts will be known, this 

provides a direct measure of accuracy of entering information across the 

three training groups. However, it lacks external validity. As such, we 

include Step 4.

Step 4: Each lab respondent will provide their home address. The lab 

interviewer will travel to the lab respondent’s house to deliver the 

equipment. The lab interviewer will identify whether or not the respondent 

has a high-speed internet connection that can work with the equipment; 

otherwise, the interviewer will provide the household with a tablet that will 

permit wireless connection to the internet without a phone line. Each 

laboratory respondent will be asked to keep an expenditure diary for a 

total of two weeks. The laboratory interviewer will make follow-up calls 
62 

and visits, as needed, to troubleshoot problems. At the end of the two 

weeks, the interviewers will return to the lab respondent’s house to pick up 

the equipment.

We suggest evaluating the following outcomes during the field period: 

Diary cooperation rates per week, item missing rates, number of goods reported, 

number of receipts scanned; number of items with bar code readers used; 

number of e-receipts sent to email; number of individual diaries used; and total 

dollar amount reported in various expenditure categories. 

Practical Insights into the Proposed Design: One open question for moving to a 

highly technological study is how to train respondents appropriately to use these 

technologies. This study provides both a feasibility study as well as a training 

study – can the equipment be used, will it malfunction, and how best to train 

people to use the equipment. The three training methods range from least 

costly, but perhaps least effective, to most costly in terms of interviewer time and 

perhaps also respondent burden, but we hypothesize, probably the most 

effective. 

The two components of this study – the in-lab entering of simulated 

purchases and the at-home entering of actual purchases – allow different 

questions to be answered. In the lab, we have a direct measure of accuracy 

since we get to create ‘truth.’ We also minimize the risk of computer failure in the 

laboratory. By accompanying it with a follow-up in-home diary component, we 

get an initial test of how feasible it is to carry out this study. The two week time 

frame suggested here for the field feasibility test is to permit a long enough time 

for fatigue to set in, but also permit greater rotation of the equipment across lab 

respondents. 

We also can evaluate the risk in placing such costly equipment at 

respondent’s own homes. Recruiting the lab respondents in three waves and 

reusing the equipment (described below), although it lengthens the time for this

feasibility experiment, also permits an evaluation of difficulty in cleaning any 
63 

information potentially stored locally from the machines (a necessary part of the 

actual study), logistics in setting up the equipment, and the durability of the 

equipment, along with other potential problems. 

Estimated Financial and Time Requirements: It is especially difficult to know what 

the effect size for respondent training should be to use for power calculations in 

this experiment. Again using Edgar’s(2010) findings that the average number of 

items is 29.4 with a standard deviation 17.5 items as a baseline, assuming that 

this laboratory experiment and feasibility study is smaller scale than a full field 

test, and assuming that pairwise comparisons between the three training groups 

are of primary interest, we calculated the power to detect a difference between 

two of the groups in the total number of expenditures. These results are reported 

in Table 2. For example, if each of the cells has 25 respondents for a total of 75 

respondents across the three groups, then there is at least 80% power to detect 

a difference between two of the groups if the number of items they report differs 

by at least 15. If the number of respondents in each cell doubles, then the 

minimum number of items differing between the groups that can be detected falls 

to 10 items. Other possibilities for sample sizes are outlined in Table 3. 

For our cost estimates and for lack of any other information, we will 

assume a minimum difference of at least 10 items reported between two of the 

training groups will result. With at least 50 people in each cell, we can detect this 

difference with a power of 0.81. Thus, there will be a total of n=150 lab 

respondents. The majority of the cost for this study will come in the programming 

time and the equipment costs. 
64 

Table 3: Power to detect a difference in means between independent 

groups, assuming both groups have the same standard deviation = 17.5 

and are equal sized

25 each / 50 each / 75 each / 100 each / 200 each /

True difference in means 75 total 150 total 225 total 300 total 600 total

1 0.05 0.06 0.06 0.07 0.09

2 0.07 0.09 0.11 0.13 0.21

3 0.09 0.14 0.18 0.23 0.40

4 0.12 0.20 0.28 0.36 0.63

5 0.17 0.29 0.41 0.52 0.81

6 0.22 0.40 0.55 0.67 0.93

7 0.28 0.51 0.68 0.80 0.98

8 0.35 0.62 0.79 0.90 1.00

9 0.43 0.72 0.88 0.95 1.00

10 0.51 0.81 0.94 0.98 1.00

11 0.59 0.88 0.97 0.99 1.00

12 0.66 0.92 0.99 1.00 1.00

13 0.73 0.96 0.99 1.00 1.00

14 0.79 0.98 1.00 1.00 1.00

15 0.84 0.99 1.00 1.00 1.00

16 0.89 0.99 1.00 1.00 1.00

17 0.92 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00

18 0.95 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00

19 0.96 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00

20 0.98 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00

Note: Power calculations from: Lenth, R. V. (2006-9). Java Applets for Power and Sample Size 

[Computer software]. Retrieved October, 2011 from http://www.stat.uiowa.edu/~rlenth/Power

To keep equipment costs under control for this initial feasibility test, we 

recommend recruiting respondents in three waves across three months, with 

n=50 respondents in each wave, equally spread out across the three training 

groups (e.g., n=16 in Group 1, n=17 in Group 2 and n=17 in Group 3; see Table 

4). Each wave will be a new independent ‘cross-section’ of volunteer 

respondents, recruited through normal volunteer methods such as Craig’s List, 

newspaper ads, word-of-mouth and so on. We recommend using age and/or 

education as blocking variables for this study to ensure variability in respondent 

characteristics. With this approach, then only 50 sets of equipment need to be 

purchased, with an equipment cost ranging from $27,000 to $45,000. 
65 

Table 4: Training and Feasibility Study Timeline

Week Month 1 Month 2 Month 3

1 Recruit n=50 lab 

participants

Group 1: 16

Group 2: 17

Group 3: 17

Start Lab + Diary 

Recruit n=50 lab 

participants

Group 1: 17

Group 2: 17

Group 3: 16

Start Lab + Diary 

Recruit n=50 lab 

participants

Group 1: 17

Group 2: 16

Group 3: 17

Start Lab + Diary 

2 Lab + Diary Lab + Diary Lab + Diary

3 Complete Diary; pick up 

equipment

Complete Diary; pick up 

equipment

Complete Diary; pick up 

equipment

4 Ready equipment for next 

group

Ready equipment for next 

group

End of study

Assume that a lab interview and training takes approximately 1 hour of an 

interviewers’ hands-on time, plus approximately 30 minutes for set up and clean 

up (15 minutes each). This would result in a total of 225 hours of lab interviewer’s 

time. If we assume that lab interviewers are paid $25 per hour, then the lab 

interviewer salary cost will be $5625 + fringe benefits. Further assume that some 

nominal incentive is necessary to recruit respondents into the lab; if the incentive 

is $25 per laboratory respondent, then this would take $25*150 respondents = 

$1250 in incentive funds.

Assume that the lab respondents are recruited from the same general 

metro area. Costs for interviewers driving to the respondent’s house to drop off, 

set up and pick up the equipment involve mileage and time. Assume that 

respondents live, on average, 30 miles from the laboratory, and that 

reimbursement is the current 51 cents per mile. Over all of the respondents, each 

trip requires 30 miles * 150 respondents = 4500 miles or $2295. Since there are 

four such trips, the total mileage costs are $9180. Assume that traffic moves at 

30 miles per hour; each trip then takes 1 hour, for a total of 4*150=450 hours, or 

a total amount of $11250 in interviewer time. Further assume that it takes about 

30 minutes to set up and test the equipment at the respondent’s house. This 

would be, at $25/hour, an additional $1875 in interviewer time. 

Excluding equipment costs, this totals to roughly $29200. We will round 

this up to $30,000. Including equipment costs, the total cost of the experiment 
66 

will be between $57,000 and $75,000. Note, however, that this does not include 

the initial costs or time of programming the instruments.

We place this experiment as the second recommendation, even though 

we estimate the costs being relatively reasonable, as it is not related to the 

primary differences between our recommended design and the current design. 

As such, we see Experiment #1 as the most important research to conduct. 

However, if two such experiments are conducted, Experiment #2 should probably 

be conducted prior to Experiment #1 for purposes of knowing how to train the 

respondents in use of the tablet computers and other equipment.

Experiment #3: Monetary Incentives and Non-Monetary Feedback 

Early research on expenditures suggested that small nonmonetary 

incentives significantly improved the collection of diary information (e.g., Sudman 

and Ferber 1971). More recent reviews of the existing literature (e.g., Singer 

2002) suggest that prepaid monetary incentives increase survey cooperation 

rates, but the effects of prepaid monetary incentives on consumer diary 

completion need further investigation. For example, a recent investigation of 

lotteries on diary completion showed effects of the incentive on cooperation and 

data quality, but the modes and type of incentive are markedly different from 

those proposed here (Bonke and Fallesen 2010). Furthermore, how to 

encourage sampled consumer units to continue to complete the diary during data 

collection requires greater investigation. This could include electronic follow-ups, 

telephone calls, or in person visits. 

The proposed CE design encourages the use of incentives for initial 

recruitment and for nonresponse follow-up field work. Here, the proposed 

experiment is only for the initial recruitment. This experimental factor is proposed 

to have four levels:

30

 

30 We recognize that all of these levels for experimentation may be too low; one could easily 

modify the levels of incentives, but maintain the design. 
67 

Group 1: No incentive: This is the control group, mimicking the current CE no 

incentive design. 

Group 2: $10 per consumer unit adult per week promised & $5 per consumer unit 

child per week promised: The U.K. Survey of Food and Living Expenses 

offers a 10£ (adult) and 5£ (children) incentive. Because the design 

proposed here is longer than other diaries, this experimental factor 

compensates each adult in the consumer unit for each week of data 

collection. Since this could be a potentially costly design decision, this 

factor uses a promised incentive, paid after successful completion of the 

week’s diary. 

Group 3: $10 per week per consumer unit promised: Whether each individual in 

the consumer unit needs to be compensated is an empirical question. 

This experimental factor uses the same promised $10 per week design as 

above, but dramatically reduces costs by compensating at the consumer 

unit level, not at the individual level. Comparisons of Group 2 versus 

Group 3 allow evaluations of promised CU-level incentives compared to 

promised person-level incentive.

Group 4: $10 per week per consumer unit prepaid: This experimental factor also 

compensates at the consumer unit level, not at the individual level. 

However, it prepays the consumer unit for each week of data collection. 

Comparisons of Group 3 and Group 4 permit evaluations of prepaid vs. 

promised CU-level incentives. 

Practical Insights into the Proposed Design: The proposed design recommends 

providing CU’s with a monetary token of appreciation for their time and effort 

spent completing the diary. How to do this, however, is an open empirical 

question given the complexity of the task and the novelty (at least, the 2011 

novelty) of the equipment. As such, we have included these four options as what 

we think are plausible from a cost standpoint, but also may be meaningful for the 

CU.
68 

Estimated Financial and Time Requirements: For simplicity, let us assume that 

the power calculations from the first experiment hold, and that there will be a 5 

percentage point difference in response rates between each of the four groups. 

[We note that this simplifying assumption may be overly liberal, but it may be a 

reasonable assumption between the no incentive and the incentivized groups.] If 

this is the case, then the power calculations indicating n=1565 cases per cell still 

hold as do the cost calculations for development of the diary and so on. 

The primary additional cost arises due to the incentive. There is no extra 

cost for the ‘no incentive group.’ The $10 per CU per week prepaid and promised 

can conservatively be estimated as $10*4*1565 = $62,600 for each treatment. 

Assuming an average household size of 2.58 persons, we can estimate the total 

incentives for the per-CU member incentive group of 

$10*4*1565*2.58=$161,508. Thus, the additional cost for conducting the 

incentive experiment proposed here is about $287,000. As for timing, we 

recommend in this experiment for all cases to be released simultaneously. If, as 

with experiment #1, equipment is limited, a staggered approach outlined there 

could be done, but will expand the time line accordingly.

Design Features Requiring Further Development

In addition to the methodological studies outlined above, we believe that 

our recommended design would benefit from the conduct of exploratory work 

related to several features of our recommended design. For each of these 

design features, the empirical literature is, in essence, nonexistent, so we have 

little basis for the recommendation of experimental factors to vary. These 

exploratory studies would focus on the following design features:

The use of multiple formats of memory trigger diaries and receipts

Further information is needed to understand within-consumer unit 

technology use. What technology is used by which CU members for what 

purposes? We know of no national data that currently captures this level 

of detail (e.g., smartphone ownership with details concerning what 
69 

features of the smartphone are used). Are CU members willing to use 

their personal equipment as part of a data collection effort? Are 

reimbursements needed for this use? Or are most CU members – even 

those who are quite technologically savvy – most comfortable with small 

portable paper diaries for recording expenditures away from home, 

coupled with maintaining receipts? Furthermore, how comfortable are 

CUs in providing this information (which may be sensitive or private to 

some CUs) to BLS electronically? Once BLS has an understanding of the 

characteristics of CUs and an understanding of the acceptance of 

requests to use personal equipment and provide copies of receipts, we 

would recommend small iterative experiments to fine tune the use of 

particular apps (across various platforms), the development of accessible 

instructions for the use of those applications, and the development of the 

most appealing hard copy portable diaries (including the simple diary for 

those under the age of 15) and receipt retention systems. 

The level and frequency of interviewer-respondent interaction over the diary 

month.

Another factor for which there is little to no experimental literature is the 

degree to which interviewers should interact with respondents over the 

period during which they are serving as a diarist. Although most 

consumer expenditure studies call for an interviewer to follow up with 

consumer units shortly following the start of the diary period, should the 

longer diary period prove to be feasible (see Experiment 1) we believe that 

the BLS should consider flexible protocols for CU and respondent

interfaces. These interviewer-CU contacts could include one or more of 

the following: mid period face to face contacts, telephone contacts, or 

emails. In part, the degree to which the interviewer will interface with the 

CUs during the diary period may be determined by the overall design of 

the field protocol, including the provision of telephone and internet-based 

help lines for the CU members and the ability to monitor data entry in real 
70 

time. We speculate that “best practices” may vary by type of CU, with 

some units benefiting with frequent reminders and others preferring or 

requiring little support to complete the task. The lack of literature on this 

topic leads us to recommend that BLS investigate consumer preferences 

(e.g., via focus groups) before designing alternative protocols that 

encompass face to face, telephone, and/or email contacts by the field 

interviewer. 

The incorporation of respondents’ financial management and tracking systems.

Similar to technology adoption, the use of financial management and 

tracking software is growing, but we know little about the extent of CUlevel penetration nor how or by whom the software is used among 

members of the CU. To what extent do various financial management 

systems capture data at the level necessary for use by CE? Should 

adoption of such software be sufficient to warrant it, can an interface be 

developed so as minimize redundant data entry for those CUs embracing 

these various applications? Similar to technology adoption, the use of 

financial management and tracking software is growing, but we know little 

about the extent of CU-level penetration nor how or by whom the software 

is used among members of the CU. To what extent do various financial 

management systems capture data at the level necessary for use by CE? 

Should adoption of such software be sufficient to warrant it, can an 

interface be developed so as minimize redundant data entry for those CUs 

embracing these various applications? Furthermore, as with receipts, how 

comfortable are CUs in providing this information in some form to BLS? 

Here we again think focus groups will be beneficial to understand 

respondents’ willingness to provide access to the information before 

studying the use of this software at a population level.
71 

The incorporation of feedback mechanisms for responding consumer units. 

We have outlined an experimental study to examine the effects of 

monetary incentives on participation. Beyond incentives, what other 

feedback or information can BLS provide to responding CUs? What 

information would be helpful to these CUs? Can BLS move away from a 

data collection model of little benefit to the CE participants to a model of 

“data exchange?” We believe that summary reports of expenditures during 

a month by category may be valued by some households, but ‘too much 

information’ or potentially off-putting for others. We also are hesitant to 

recommend any single feedback mechanism that would imply that BLS is 

giving financial advice. Here, we believe that extensive qualitative efforts 

are needed to fully understand what might be most useful to CUs.

 
72 

V. Considerations concerning Nonresponse

CE response rates have fallen for both the diary and the interview 

components from roughly 80% to close to 70% over the last decade (Response 

Rate Status Report, 2011). Although nonresponse rates are not necessarily 

indicative of nonresponse bias (Groves 2006), a ten percentage point drop in 

response rates raises concerns about the risk of nonresponse bias of CE 

estimates. Complicating matters is that the CE has multiple key estimates, 

including aggregate means, proportions and totals and subclass means, 

proportions and totals. Nonresponse bias is a property of a statistic, not a 

survey, and as such, each expenditure estimate will have different nonresponse 

bias properties.

The changes in the data collection protocol and questionnaires described 

above will have unknown effects on response rates and on the nonresponse bias 

properties of the key survey estimates. We hypothesize that with changing the 

majority of the sample to a single interview and reducing the number of waves for 

the panel sample, response rates will not drop below their current levels and may 

even increase. We do not know, however, what the effect of increasing the length 

of the diary period will be on retention throughout the diary period.

As such, we recommend an active approach to monitoring and adapting to 

changing conditions during field data collection. In this way, the competing – and 

sometimes orthogonal – concerns of maintaining high response rates overall and 

reducing the variability of response rates for important subgroups can be 

simultaneously examined. This active monitoring does not reduce the need for 

statistical postsurvey adjustments after the data collection period is over. As 

such, our recommendations for dealing with unit nonresponse blend monitoring 

and adjusting data collection protocols during the field period with the statistical 

weighting adjustments described in the sample design above. 
73 

A. Overview of Responsive Design

In a responsive design, data collection efforts are modified conditional on 

the progress of the field efforts and stability of the survey estimates given the 

current field protocol (Groves and Heeringa 2006). The changes to the data

collection efforts involve a set of prespecified protocol components, such as 

incentives, shortened questionnaires, experienced interviewers, and so on, 

specifically designed to bring in sampled consumer unit who differ on the key 

estimates of interest. Decisions to implement the new protocol are based on 

close monitoring of field data collection. Thus, to implement a responsive design 

in the CE, we have to define field effort, key survey estimates, protocol 

components that may bring in different types of sampled persons, triggers for 

implementing new protocol components, and a monitoring plan for the field effort 

itself. 

B. Field Effort

The definition of field effort in a responsive design is critical because of the 

continuous monitoring requirement of a responsive design. Triggers for the 

implementation of new recruitment protocol features depend on showing that the 

current protocol no longer yields noticeable gains in response rates or changes in 

survey estimates over additional exerted effort using the same protocol, a 

concept that Groves and Heeringa (2006) call ‘phase capacity.’ 

There are many ways to measure field effort. Two of the most common 

measures are the number of call attempts made to a sampled unit and the 

number of days that the sampled unit has been in the field. Prior analyses of 

levels of effort to recruit sampled persons in the CE using the Contact History 

Instrument (CHI) showed that most sampled units (85%) receive seven or fewer 

calls in the first wave recruitment (Safir and Tan 2009), receive an average of 4 

calls between waves 2 and 3 (Olson 2011), and are in the field for an average of 

eight days before being resolved (Olson 2011). In general, interviews are 

resolved faster than noninterviews, but out-of-scope cases are resolved faster 
74 

than interviews (‘The CEQ Contact History Instrument’, 2006). In an analysis of 

April-December 2005 CE CHI data, 80% of all interviews were completed by the 

10th day of the month, and 90% were completed by the middle (15th) of the 

month.

In the design described above, new sample is released every 30 days. 

Thus, we recommend implementing new field procedures based on monitoring 

number of days in the field period, rather than total number of call attempts. We 

also recommend separately monitoring completion of the household recruitment 

effort with the in person interview, the diary completion, and panel cooperation.

C. Key Estimates and Data Requirements

Responsive designs preidentify important estimates and field effort 

indicators to monitor during the course of field data collection. These estimates 

and indicators can be expansive and overwhelming to monitor. We recommend 

selecting a small, fixed number of field effort indicators and a small, fixed number 

of key estimates to monitor overall and across important subgroups. 

Overall Field Effort Indicators –Fresh cross-section, Interview component. 

Field effort indicators are used primarily to gauge costs and monitor field 

productivity rather than as an error indicator. At a bare minimum, these include 

overall CU response rates, CU out-of-sample/ineligible rates, CU contact rates, 

and CU cooperation rates, conditional on contact. We recommend calculating 

and monitoring both unweighted and base-weighted response, ineligible, contact 

and cooperation rates daily. Additional indicators could include the proportion of 

sample units that have been visited at least once, the proportion of housing units 

that have been visited during ‘peak times’ (weekday evenings and weekend 

days), interviewer hours per interview, and so on. With new cross-sections 

released monthly, variation across months in the day-to-day trends of these field 

effort indicators will be informative about which protocol features consistently 

lead to certain field outcomes and which fluctuations are simply noise.

Overall Field Effort Indicators – Fresh cross-section, diary component. We 

also recommend monitoring overall rates related to the initiation and progress of 
75 

the diary. Since the diary will be completed using an internet-enabled tablet, the 

CU can complete the web survey nightly. To disentangle compliance from lack of 

purchasing, households will be instructed to submit their survey data each night, 

even if no member of the household made a purchase that day. The instrument 

will have an indicator for ‘no purchases made today’ to allow each household to 

have something to report. 

Roughly 66% of adults are estimated to have broadband internet access 

in 2010 (Smith 2010; see also Horrigan 2010); the remaining adults will be able 

to upload their data using wireless data plans.31

Monitoring of key estimates. Triggers for implementing new protocol 

components in a responsive design are based on obtaining ‘phase capacity’ in 

which the current protocol no longer yields higher response rates and no longer 

brings in persons who vary on the survey variables of interest. Monitoring of 

phase capacity of key estimates in the CE is difficult because of the diary 

component. Thus, we recommend using the global questions about 

expenditures as proxies of the key estimates to monitor during data collection. 

We recommend monitoring the 

compliance of these two groups separately. For example, relevant field effort 

indicators to monitor will be the proportion of households who successfully 

submit data on each day of data collection, the proportion of households who 

successfully complete a full week of data collection, the number of items reported 

each day of data collection, change in the number of items reported during data 

collection over the course of the month, and so on.

Overall Field Effort Indicators – Panel component. The field effort 

indicators for the panel components are similar to those for the fresh crosssection. An additional source of nonresponse for the panel component is nonlocation nonresponse (Lepkowski and Couper 2002). Thus, we recommend 

monitoring the proportion of consumer units that cannot be located in months 7 

and 13 to the list of field effort indicators monitored above.

 

31 A final third group will neither have broadband internet at home and will not be able to have 

wireless data service. 
76 

Subgroups. Given the lack of information available in real-time for 

monitoring of key estimates, we recommend monitoring variation in response 

rates over key subgroups who also vary in levels of expenditures. If all 

subgroups defined by a particular characteristic have equal response rates, then 

the risk of nonresponse bias related to that characteristic is eliminated. 

Previously identified CE correlates of participation include urbanicity, type of 

PSU, housing tenure (own/rent), housing value, number of rooms in the dwelling 

unit, region, sex, race, educational attainment, CU size, and CU income 

(Chopova, et al. 2008). Since the Census 2000 Census 100-Percent Detail File is 

used as a frame (http://bls.gov/opub/hom/homch16.htm#SampleDesign), we 

encourage BLS to work with the U.S. Census Bureau to merge auxiliary data 

from the ACS and/or Decennial Census for purposes of monitoring data 

collection efforts. Proactive combining of these data, even if the information is out 

of date for some housing units, will provide more information about 

characteristics of these subgroups than no information at all. 

In absence of micro-level data on each housing unit, BLS should use any 

and all information available from the ACS and Decennial Census at the Census 

Tract and Census Block level for monitoring participation rates. Key 

characteristics that are available from these data sources that seem relevant 

include median income of the geographic unit, education levels, racial/ethnic 

composition, renting vs. owning, and single adult households. 

Two new sources of data that we recommend be explored are 

observations by interviewers about the housing unit and the merging on of 

auxiliary data from administrative databases from companies such as Acxiom, 

Experian and InfoUSA. CE interviewers traditionally have been asked to make 

observations about housing tenure (rent/own) for each consumer unit. These 

observations are combined with respondent reports of owning versus renting and 

used in post-survey adjustments. We recommend that this information continue 

to be collected. We also recommend developing a small number of additional 

observations for interviewers to collect on a small number of other characteristics 

of the consumer unit that are related to expenditures, such as the presence or 
77 

absence of children (Table 5 of the CE Average Annual Expenditures Tables) 

and estimates of the housing value or income of the CU (Table 2 of the CE 

Average Annual Expenditures Tables) (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010). 

Administrative data bases such as credit records created by Acxiom, 

Experian and InfoUSA provide information on names, addresses, demographics, 

and consumer purchase behavior. Each list can be obtained for different levels 

of geography such as zip codes, cities, counties or states, around addresses, or 

from drawing boundaries on a map. Previous research on administrative 

databases and survey samples has shown that they cover roughly 75% of 

addresses in large national samples, that they have large amounts of missing 

data in the records themselves, and that the quality of the information in these 

databases on general demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the 

household can be quite discrepant from that collected in the surveys themselves 

(Raghunathan and VanHoewyk no date; see also DiSogra, Dennis and Fahimi 

2010). For these reasons, we do not recommend using information from these 

types of administrative data sets for purposes of reducing burden in the 

questionnaire. Additionally, in some instances, the survey reports may be more 

accurate than the information contained in administrative data sets (Sakshaug 

2011). However, to the extent that the consumer purchasing behavior in these 

records is correlated with actual consumer purchasing behavior, then these 

variables will be more informative than basic demographic information or income 

information with the CE survey variables of interest. 

Montioring subgroups. Whatever auxiliary data are used, they should form 

the basis for gauging ‘representivity’ during data collection. One measure of 

adequate representation of subgroups is variation in response rates over the 

subgroups (Groves et al. 2008). If there is little variation in response rates 

across subgroups, then all subgroups are equally represented in the respondent 

pool. One possible metric is to calculate the coefficient of variation of the 

response rate over subgroups. 

More sophisticated methods include using the auxiliary data to build 

response propensity models, predicting the probability of obtaining an interview 
78 

(or contact or cooperation). Predicted probabilities under these models then 

summarize the auxiliary information on respondents and nonrespondents. If the 

variation of these predicted probabilities is small and/or there is reasonable 

overlap between the predicted probabilities of the respondents and 

nonrespondents, then the respondents and nonrespondents are similar on the 

characteristics used to build the propensity models (Rosenbaum and Rubin 

1984, 1985).

Alternatively, an R-indicator can be calculated, using a function of these 

predicted response propensities. R-indicators, or ‘representivity indicators’ vary 

from 0 to 1 and indicate how ‘representative’ the sample is on the characteristics 

used in the propensity model (Schouten, Cobben and Bethlehem 2009). 

Alternatively, R-indicators can be built using population information, rather than 

sample information, to indicate how closely the sample reflects the population 

distribution on characteristics of interest. 

Monitoring Interviewers. Recent work by West and Olson (2010) has 

shown that nonresponse biases can vary over interviewers and can be of similar 

magnitude to measurement errors that vary over interviewers. As such, we 

recommend, at a bare minimum, monitoring response rates across interviewers. 

Ideally, variation in response rates for a small number of subgroups of interest 

will be monitored across interviewers. Since the CE does not have an 

interpenetrated design, we are hesitant in recommending monitoring of key 

estimates across interviewers as variation across interviewers will also reflect 

variation across areas and across characteristics of their sample. 

D. New Protocol Components

It is currently not known what will be the most effective way to change the 

recruitment protocol to both increase response rates overall, but also recruit 

people who vary on levels of expenditures. We suggest three possible options for 

changing recruitment protocols. To the extent that methodological experiments 

can occur on field procedures as well as measurement methods, we think that 

experimental variation on these characteristics will be informative about possible 
79 

changes in response rates and nonresponse bias. We do not see these as 

mutually exclusive, but instead think of them as multiple tools in the arsenal of 

potential protocol changes.

Shorter Diary Period. The first change to the protocol that may help 

increase response rates and bring in persons who differ on purchases is a 

reduction in the length of the diary period. Some nonrespondents may think that 

a full month of diary taking is unduly burdensome. For these consumer units, 

then, reducing the length of the diary is a reduction in burden. These 

respondents will be asked to complete only a two week diary rather than a full 

month diary. We note that this ‘reduction in burden’ still increases the amount of 

information from the consumer unit over the current one week diary. In this way, 

some ‘actual’ survey data about relevant consumer unit purchases is obtained, 

albeit for a shorter time period.

Global Questions Only. Some households may find any recording of 

expenditures unduly problematic. For these households, when it is clear that 

they will not participate in the diary, we recommend that the interviewer attempt 

to complete only the main interview including the global questions, but explicitly 

mention that the consumer unit will not need to complete the one month diary. 

Although the global questions will not be used for purposes of estimation, they 

can be a useful source for nonresponse bias analyses.

Increased Incentives. One of the most consistent recruitment protocol 

components that increases response rates and potentially brings in a different 

type of respondent is the use of incentives. Increased incentives for ‘end-stage’ 

or ‘phrase 2’ data collection have been successfully used, for example, in the 

National Survey of Family Growth (Lepkowski et al, 2010). Here, we recommend 

offering reluctant households an increase over their original incentive levels.

Since our recommendation for incentives is tied to methodological investigation 

of incentive levels, we recommend a noticeable (e.g., doubling) of the eventually 

decided upon incentive. For example, if the incentive is $10 per week, then we 

recommend doubling the incentive for nonresponse reduction purposes to $20 

per week. 
80 

E. Triggers for New Protocol Components

Field effort and key estimates will be monitored over the course of the one 

month field period. As a result, a trigger needs to be built that uses the 

information about the day of the field period after which to implement the new 

components. Two different approaches can be used – an approach that 

customizes when a new set of components can be used after a case has been in 

the field for a prespecified number of days (assuming that all cases are not 

worked on the same start day) or an approach that universally implements a new 

protocol for all cases starting on the same day of the field period. For a face to 

face survey, management of field data collection is likely eased by the latter 

approach; the former approach can more easily be implemented in a centralized 

phone facility. 

We do now know when during the 30 days ‘phase capacity’ will be 

reached. We also expect that ‘phase capacity’ will be reached at different points 

for different survey estimates. From analyses of previous CE data (Olson 2010), 

we suspect that it will occur sometime around day 15 of the field period. 

However, those analyses tended to look at changes in response rates and not 

changes in the key estimates. Since there is a ‘start-up’ time for effectiveness of 

new protocol components, especially in face-to-face surveys (Olson and Groves 

forthcoming), we recommend implementing the new protocol components by at 

least the 20th day of the month. However, the trigger date may be earlier in this 

protocol.

F. Monitoring System Requirements

 Infrastructure is needed to be able to effectively implement a responsive 

design. In particular, computerized call records with details (day, time, outcome, 

interviewer, approaches used) about each call attempt made to the consumer 

unit must be recorded. The CE currently records that information using the 

Contact History Instrument (CHI). We recommend that this practice continue.
81 

Additionally, an analytic and management system that summarizes and 

reports on results from call records and disseminates to managers and field staff 

in real time is also needed. We do not know if the CE currently has this type of 

infrastructure in place at Census for field data collection. The costs of setting up 

this kind of system vary tremendously across organizations. Some smaller 

organizations may simply pay a research assistant to download and analyze 

these data and disseminate them to relevant field staff; other large organizations 

custom-build entire reporting systems for this purpose; still other organizations 

use reporting capabilities present in existing sample management and data 

collection systems. We do not include the costs of this system – which can 

clearly be a non-trivial cost – in the estimates for this survey, as the costs for this 

kind of upfront infrastructure building vary across organizations. 
82 

VI. Costs32

Our design attempts to balance costs with reductions in errors associated 

with retrospective recall. We reduce field costs by significantly shifting the field 

effort from a combination of interview and diary sample to exclusively a diary 

sample; however we recognize that our design also involves increased levels of 

“first contacts.” In addition, our recommendations include the payment of an 

incentive, something currently not included in the CE field effort. We leverage 

these savings against the increased costs associated with increased reliance on 

technology and incentives.

 A. Field Costs

Cost data for FY 2010 were supplied to us by the National Academy of 

Sciences; these data suggest that the costs per diary sample case are 

approximately $250 (total field costs) and range between $270 and $313 per for 

the quarterly interview survey. Little to no detail on these field costs 

accompanied the spreadsheet. Due to our lack of understanding with respect to 

the relationship between the total number of fielded cases and total number of 

responding sample cases, especially for the diary component, we examined total 

field costs as a function of sample used for estimation.

33

 

32 We question whether we fully understand the costs presented in the spreadsheet. For 

example, the estimate of $250 per sample unit for the diary interview (which requires at least 

three in person visits per compliant CU) would suggest CU personal visit costs are under $100

per visit, inclusive of interviewer travel time, mileage, and time spent at the CU.

In FY 2010, total field 

costs (that is, interviewing labor, mileage, and other direct costs) were reported 

by the Bureau of the Census to be approximately $21.2 million dollars. One way 

to view those costs are with respect the data points provided as a result of these 

expenditures: 7100 diary observations (reported as approximately 14,000 

interviews, but we note that these are not independent observations) and 28,000 

quarterly interview observations (actually 35,000 quarterly interview observations 

33 For example, the data provided indicate that the total CED sample workload in FY 2010 was 

14,888 cases. If approximately 7100 CUs provide diary data each year and interviewers contact 

diarists three times (to enroll them, following week 1 and following week 2) shouldn’t the FY 2010 

costs be associated with a case workload of 21,000+attempts? 
83 

of which 28,000 are used for estimation purposes). Thus, a CU-level observation 

(regardless of how many face to face interviews or telephone contacts were 

required to obtain that data) cost approximately $605 in FY2010. Our proposed 

design calls for an interviewed sample of 33,220 completed CU-level 

observations per year. Budgeted at the same rate as the effort related to the CEI 

and the CED leads to an estimated field cost of slightly over $20 million dollars. 

However, if we budget from the perspective of costs per completed face to face 

contact and interview (around $325/successful face to face interview) and we are 

proposing two to three face to face contacts per diarist, we would estimate field 

costs at between $22.6 million and $32.4 million.

 

 B. Technology Costs

One of the advantages of incorporating additional technology into the data 

collection is that technology costs, for a fixed piece of equipment, tend to move in 

one direction – downward, whereas labor costs tend to move in the opposite 

direction. In addition, the increased reliance on technology benefits from the 

societal movement toward greater adoption and penetration across all segments 

of the population. As a result, costs and adoption rates referenced in this 

document will quickly be outdated. In light of the dynamics of costs and 

acquisition rates, we offer this discussion as illustrative of some of the issues that 

BLS would need to consider in adopting our design.

Our design calls for the placement of two to three pieces of high tech 

equipment in every CU, for the period in which they serve as a diarist: at most 

this would consist of a computer tablet, a barcode reader, and a portable 

scanner. In 2011, the commercial costs for these devices (total) range from 

about $900 to $1500. These are, of course, retail prices and do not reflect 

potential savings related to government acquisitions. To support our 

recommended design, a minimum of 3,000 such sets of units are needed per 

month; to allow flexibility in the delivery and pick up of the units as well as 

replacement units and sufficient numbers of units to accommodate geographic 

dispersion of the sample across the U.S., we would anticipate that the 
84 

government would need 6,000 to 8,000 such sets of devices, which at a retail 

price would cost approximately $6 million to $12 million. Servicing and 

warranties and/or insurance for the equipment would add further to the costs. Of 

course, this is cost that can be amortized over multiple years of data collection. 

 In 2009, slightly more than 60% of households in the U.S. had broadband 

internet access (Pew Research Center, 2009); in order to provide similar access 

to all households would require an additional outlay of (once again, based on 

commercial costs) approximately $25/month/consumer unit. 

C. Incentive Costs

We recommend using an incentive in this design, with a variety of 

methodological experiments to determine an ‘optimal’ level of incentives. The 

least expensive – the promised $10 incentive for each week of completion – 

would be a total of $1.33 million per year. 

D. Post-Survey Processing Costs

We have no information on current post-survey processing costs in the 

CEQ or CED. An advantage to a fully web- or computer-based instrument is that 

the data are more directly captured electronically.

 E. Development Costs 

One of the more difficult costs to consider in this redesign effort is the 

costs associated with development. As part of our research for this contract, we 

undertook a small feasibility study involving one of the investigators and several 

graduate students. The feasibility study utilized two pieces of equipment –an 

iPad 2 and an iPod Touch, free and low cost apps (RedLaser, JotNot Pro, 

ProOnGo) for barcode reading and scanning of receipts, and one commercially 

available software package – mint.com. One graduate student –working less 

than 40 hours –developed a mock protocol of a CE diary (written using Qualtrics) 

that included several key features: (1) place vs. item specific start to the 

branching patterns; (2) development of dynamic pick lists for the respondent to 
85 

use for repeated purchases; (3) links between diary entries and excel 

spreadsheet generated from mint.com; (4) links between diary entries and pdfs of 

receipts created from ProOnGo; and (5) links between the diary entry and the file 

cabinet web portal of electronic receipts from ProOnGo. The investigator used 

the devices and protocol for the collection of expenditure data for two weekends 

in October. 

Clearly, the protocol does not represent an instrument one would field for 

a national study –the point of the feasibility study was to determine if any of the 

recommendations offered in this report were out of the reach of possibilities for 

the CE. Our conclusion is that nothing recommended in this report in 2011 is 

beyond consideration for a national field effort for the future. 

Of course, we are not recommending developing a major federal data 

collection effort with little to no budget. The key costs associated with the 

redesign include:

• Redesign of the CE Diary, to permit multiple means of entry (direct report, 

link to excel spreadsheet, link to a scanned receipt, pick from dynamic lists 

created from user’s entries), incorporating “hot keys” and help options that 

maximize user friendliness and which results in data of high integrity and 

stability;

• Revision of existing apps and software (or development from scratch) to 

capture expenditures at the level of detail necessary for CPI use; 

• Testing of alternative equipment for durability and reliability; 

• Development and testing of communication protocols among devices and 

between consumer units and web-based portals that maintains the 

integrity of the data while also protecting the confidentiality of the data;

• Development of training protocols for the respondents and the 

interviewers. 

Redesigns of this magnitude often require multiple years to thoroughly 

develop and sufficiently test. We forward recommendations from the National 

Academies’ Panel on the Design of the 2010 Census Program for redesign of the 
86 

2020 Census (Brown, et al. 2010), including clearly delineating statements of 

what devices should do (as we have done above), rather than focusing on a 

single device, as any device currently in use is likely to be sorely out of date in 

five years. It would not be unreasonable to anticipate development costs of $10

million to $20 million over a two to three year period. 
87 

VII. Conclusions and Additional Considerations34

The CE data serve many masters, including the CPI (for which detailed 

information about expenditures is needed and for which the sample size must 

support sub-national geographic area estimation) as well as outside data users. 

Optimizing a design for one group runs the risk of limiting the data for different 

users of the CE data. The design outlined above attempts to meet some of the 

challenges facing the CE by eliminating reliance on retrospective recall and 

limiting the source of CPI estimates for expenditures to data obtained from the 

same CUs utilizing the same design (that is, the same source for food 

expenditures as well as clothing expenditures as well as mortgage expenditures). 

The major shortfall of the proposed design is the need to develop synthetic 

estimates for quarterly and annual expenditures. 

There are, of course, an infinite number of ways that one can consider 

redesigning the CE to meet all of the data users needs; each of these options 

involves consideration of compromises and rank ordering of priorities. We offer 

some alternatives below for consideration, in part, to address concerns 

expressed in the two day workshop held at the end of October 2011.

• Reduction in burden by splitting requirement for data collection.

• BLS has, in the past, considered matrix sampling. Of course, doing so 

eliminates the collection of all expenditure data for each CU. In thinking 

primarily about burden, an obvious split would be between food 

expenditures and all other expenditures. However, any matrix approach 

comes at the cost of redundancies in data collection (e.g., demographic 

and income information) and requires synthetic estimation to link CUs to 

have integrated data. The need for increased sample size could be offset 

by extending the participation from a single month diary to a three month 

diary period in light of the reduced burden. Furthermore, a greater reliance 

on digitizing hardcopy receipts or uploading electronic receipts removes 

 

34 This section added post the presentation to NAS, BLS and stakeholders on October 26, 2011. 
88 

the need to reduce the items asked for in the questionnaire. Reduction in 

burden by limiting the capture of data to “what” or “how much.”

CE diary recording is burdensome in part due to the double edged sword 

of capturing both “what” and “how much.” To what extent could CUs 

capture only the “what” and gather price information from data 

aggregators? Or for some items, such as food, would it be better to ask 

CUs to capture the total costs and integrate data from data aggregators to 

capture the “what?” Once again, reduction in burden could be used to 

request longer periods of participation, thereby facilitating quarterly 

estimates within a CU, at the cost of less information. 

• Preserving annual panel data. 

One of the major concerns with the proposed design is the lack of 

quarterly and annual data at the CU level (apart from synthetic 

approaches). To address this, one can consider continuation of a panel 

that incorporates retrospective recall, a prospective data capture (such as 

the one proposed) but involving the use of high levels of incentives, or the 

use of a modified approach to the data collection that attempts to capture 

the expenditures at a higher level of detail than is needed for the CPI. For 

example, one could envision a panel for which the request is to maintain 

financial records similar to those recorded by mint.com users. These data 

capture expenditures within categories (which could be modified for CE 

use) but does not capture (in the current commercially available version) 

detail at the level of interest to CPI. Understanding the demographics of 

current users of this type of software and why they use the financial 

management software would be valuable in shaping a data collection 

effort of this nature. A major limitation of such an approach is that the data 

would be quite different from the data used to compute the CPI.
89 

• Using administrative data.

Consolidation in retailers provides CE with opportunities to capture data 

apart from burdening CU members. As we noted, a small number of 

grocery retailers accounts for over 70% of grocery expenditures in urban 

areas. But not 100%, and likely quite lower in rural areas. The tradeoff 

becomes one of mixed data quality – and sources of those data – across 

CUs as a function of geographic location and socio-economic 

characteristics. 

These suggestions represent but a handful of variations one could 

consider in a redesign of the Consumer Expenditure Survey. Clearly, any 

redesign effort must prioritize among data users (with respect to demands) and 

then work to minimize various sources of error (most notably measurement and 

nonresponse) within fixed time and resource constraints. We welcome the 

opportunity to continue a dialogue with the Bureau of Labor Statistics as they 

wrestle with these issues. 

 
90 

Appendix A

Additional Information on Software Referenced in Paper

Mint.com Personal Finance

This application is based around placing all open checking, savings, and 

investment accounts into one application. Once this application has been set up 

and account credentials have been entered, the user of the application can 

update their account data in real time over a cellular or Wifi network. 

Transactions are downloaded from associated accounts and can be viewed 

individually within the application. In addition, the user may input their own 

transactions at point of sale and categorize them appropriately (cash, check, 

credit card, etc). Within entering transactions as point of sale, users with GPSenabled devices (smartphones and some tablets) may input the specific 

merchant from which they are purchasing items. The application conducts a 

location search and associates the results with Google Maps to find specific 

merchant locations in the surrounding area.

In addition to entering and syncing data within a user’s account, a user may also 

create specific budgets for items or expenses that they will incur on a monthly 

basis. Specific amounts of money can be entered into these budget categories 

and they are updated accordingly when transaction data is synced with accounts 

associated with the user. When a specific budget amount is exceeded, there are 

options to notify the user that they have spent over the amount they had set in a 

given category. Notifications can range from badges (numerical indication on the 

application icon when it is not in use) on a smart phone such as iOS or Android 

devices. Users may also set their preferences to alert them with text messages 

when they have gone over their set amount. Additionally, these notifications can 

be set to inform the user when unusual amounts of money or large purchases 

have been sent or received in one of their accounts.

JotNot Scanner Pro

This application is a multi-page scanner and image enhancement tool for storing 

documents entered as images from another source. The application functions 

similarly as commercial scanners (and their software) in that the user has the 

option of image enhancement and cropping after importing the original 

document. This application reads text that has been imported from a variety of 

sources. These include, but are not limited to, receipts, black and white and color 

documents, and handwriting on blackboard or whiteboards. This application 

contains a range of image processing options that allow the user to adjust the 

contrast and tints of backgrounds and image adjustment for black and white and 

inversion of colors. Also, the user may choose to place a timestamp of the import 

on to an image after it has been imported for processing. 
91 

After a user has imported and processed a document through the application. 

There are options to adjust the overall file size and resolution of the file. This 

relates to how the file is to be exported, which there are a range of options to do 

so. If the user connects to the same Wifi network as a computer, tablet, or mobile 

device, images can be transmitted over Wifi sharing by connecting to a specified 

IP address through an internet browser. Images processed through the 

application may also be exported to applications such as Evernote, Dropbox, 

Google Docs, and iDisk. Additionally, for a fee of roughly $1 per scan, processed 

images may be exported by fax directly from the application.

Prizmo

This application is a multi-purpose document scanner that uses optical character 

recognition (OCR) to recognize typed or written text from the source of the image 

taken or imported into the application itself. This application does not require an 

internet connection to function, as all of the OCR support is done through the 

application and not on a web server. This also means that data is stored 

confidentially on the device and not online (unless exported to an online storage 

space). This application has a range of different sources from which an image 

can come. This includes typed or written text on a document, business cards, 

bills, and whiteboards. After an image has been taken or imported into the 

application, the user has several customization options before character 

recognition scans through the document. These include rotation (left and right), 

cropping the image down to just labels and prices (if scanning a bill), perspective 

change, and white balance correction. Users may also select between 10 

different languages and the application will cater to these preferences once OCR 

has begun. 

After selecting preferences for the document to be scanned, a document is 

scanned for individual text characters and the results are filtered into two 

columns: labels and prices (for bills). Individual items purchased are listed on the 

left and may be edited to reflect accurate labels for individual items. Prices are 

also listed and may be edited as well. The user may then also input sales tax and 

tip percentages associated with the bill being scanned. The resulting output is 

placed within the category of the scanned item and may then be exported as a 

full image of the document scanned, or as a .csv file made to import into a 

spreadsheet. Exporting these files can be done through e-mail, MobileMe, 

DropBox, Evernote, or CloudApp.

ProOnGo Expense with Receipt Reader

This application allows a user to track transactions and expenses in real time 

through several different forms. After creating an account, a user may input 

expense data from a receipt, mileage driven in a car, billable time worked, 
92 

income from business transactions, and time expenses from calendar events on 

the user’s device. All expenses are viewable in the expenses tab in the 

application and a user can individually edit a wide selection of features to 

determine the proper categorization of the expense. When an expense is entered 

into the application, the user has the ability to attach an image of the receipt for 

the expense and add a merchant that is associated with the transaction. In 

addition to adding this information, the application allows the user to attach the 

amount of tax paid, split the expense, categorize the transaction based on set 

categories (in which the user can add their own), and by payment type. The 

application also supports multiple currencies and exchange rates. Once 

expenses have been entered, the user has a range of options as to how to 

display and report the amounts of transactions on graphs and reports. These can 

be exported to spreadsheet format as well as other expense software 

(QuickBooks). 

Data that is entered into this application is stored on servers hosted by ProOnGo 

LLC, and, thus, an account is required in order to use the software. Offline 

storage is an option for this application, but an internet connection is required to 

access and use reporting data and to sync expenses over multiple devices. In 

addition to all the features that come with the free version of this application, 

there is a paid 30 day subscription ($4.99 every 30 days) that a user can sign up 

for in order to have access to the application web portal (syncing in real time 

across devices), use of the receipt reader, unlimited exporting of expense reports 

(XLSX, XML, QuickBooks, among others), and technical support. The receipt 

reader is capable of automatically extracting merchant data as well as amount 

paid and date. The application automatically imports this into the user’s account 

and fills out the expense report to be filed. This service can be purchased 

separately from the premium service in bundles of 30 receipts ($2.99) and 50 

receipts ($4.99). In addition to receipt scanning, users may also send in digital 

receipts (email) for extraction in a similar manner.
93 

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