OMBSurveyGuidance_0106 2006.pdf

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

WHEN DESIGNING SURVEYS

FOR INFORMATION COLLECTIONS

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Office of Management and Budget

January 2006 ii

Table of Contents

PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDANCE

1. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDANCE?

2. DOES THIS GUIDANCE APPLY TO ALL ICRS SUBMITTED TO OMB?

SUBMISSION OF ICRS TO OMB

3. WHEN SHOULD AN AGENCY BEGIN THE PRA PROCESS?

4. WHEN SHOULD AGENCIES TALK TO OMB ABOUT PLANS FOR A STUDY?

5. WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR AN AGENCY TO CONDUCT OR SPONSOR AN INFORMATION COLLECTION?

6. WHEN ARE STUDIES INVOLVING THIRD PARTY OR INVESTIGATOR-INITIATED GRANTS SUBJECT TO PRA

REVIEW?

7. ARE FOCUS GROUPS SUBJECT TO PRA REVIEW?

8. WHAT ARE GENERIC CLEARANCES AND WHEN ARE THESE USEFUL FOR AGENCIES?

9. WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE FOR AN EMERGENCY CLEARANCE?

10. WHEN DO AGENCIES NEED TO COMPLETE PART B OF THE ICR SUPPORTING STATEMENT?

11. WHY DO AGENCIES NEED TO COMPLETE SOME OF PART B IF THEY ARE CONDUCTING QUALITATIVE

RESEARCH STUDIES OR PROGRAM EVALUATIONS?

SCOPE OF THE INFORMATION COLLECTION

12. WHY IS THIS DATA COLLECTION NECESSARY AND HOW WILL THE INFORMATION BE USED?

13. HOW OFTEN SHOULD DATA BE COLLECTED?

14. WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE CALCULATION OF BURDEN HOURS?

15. FOR ESTABLISHMENT SURVEYS OR PANEL SURVEYS, SHOULD BURDEN HOURS INCLUDE THE ORIGINAL COLLECTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS THAT MAY HAVE TAKEN PLACE MONTHS OR YEARS BEFORE?

16. WHY ARE AGENCIES REQUIRED TO ESTIMATE THE BURDEN IN TERMS OF BOTH TIME AND COSTS?

CHOICE OF METHODS

17. HOW DOES THE CHOICE OF METHODS FOR THE STUDY RELATE TO THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS OR PURPOSE

OF THE COLLECTION?

18. HOW DO THE USE OF THE INFORMATION AND CHOICE OF METHODS FOR THE STUDY RELATE TO THE

AGENCY’S INFORMATION QUALITY GUIDELINES?

19. WHEN SHOULD AGENCIES CONSIDER CONDUCTING A SURVEY?

20. WHAT SHOULD AGENCIES CONSIDER WHEN DESIGNING AND CONDUCTING A SURVEY?

21. WHEN SHOULD AGENCIES CONSIDER CONDUCTING A QUALITATIVE STUDY?

22. WHEN SHOULD AGENCIES CONDUCT A PILOT STUDY, PRETEST, OR FIELD TEST?

23. WHEN SHOULD AGENCIES CONSIDER CONDUCTING FOCUS GROUPS OR COGNITIVE INTERVIEWS?

24. WHEN SHOULD AGENCIES CONSIDER USING CASE STUDY METHODS?

25. WHAT SHOULD AGENCIES CONSIDER WHEN DESIGNING AND CONDUCTING A CASE STUDY?

26. WHEN SHOULD AGENCIES CONSIDER USING EXPERIMENTAL AND QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS?

SAMPLING

27. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CENSUS AND A SAMPLE SURVEY AND WHEN IS EACH

APPROPRIATE?

28. WHAT IS A SAMPLING FRAME AND WHAT IS THE COVERAGE OF THE SAMPLING FRAME?

29. IS A LIST OF INTERNET SUBSCRIBERS AVAILABLE AND ACCEPTABLE FOR USE AS A SAMPLING FRAME?

30. WHAT IS AN APPROPRIATE SAMPLE DESIGN TO ENSURE THE SAMPLE DRAWN REPRESENTS THE

POPULATION OF INTEREST?

31. ARE PROBABILITY SAMPLES ALWAYS THE BEST FOR SURVEYS OF ESTABLISHMENTS?

32. WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD AGENCIES PROVIDE ABOUT THEIR COMPLEX SAMPLE DESIGNS?

33. HOW LARGE SHOULD A SAMPLE BE FOR A STATISTICAL SURVEY?

iii

SAMPLING (Continued)

34. CAN PRE-EXISTING SURVEY PANELS, SUCH AS INTERNET PANELS, BE USED TO OBTAIN REPRESENTATIVE

SAMPLES?

35. WHAT ARE SOME COMMON NONPROBABILITY SAMPLES, AND WHY ARE THEY USED?

MODES OF DATA COLLECTION

36. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT MODES OF SURVEY DATA COLLECTION?

37. WHAT MODE OF DATA COLLECTION IS APPROPRIATE FOR A GIVEN SURVEY?

38. WHEN SHOULD AGENCIES CONSIDER A MIXED-MODE APPROACH?

39. HOW DOES GPEA AFFECT CHOICE OF MODES FOR SURVEY DATA COLLECTION?

40. WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF MAIL SURVEYS?

41. WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF TELEPHONE INTERVIEWING?

42. WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF IN-PERSON INTERVIEWING?

43. WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF USING INTERNET SURVEYS?

44. HOW DOES THE DATA COLLECTION MODE AFFECT QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN?

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

45. WHAT SHOULD AGENCIES DO WHEN DEVELOPING NEW QUESTIONNAIRES OR QUESTIONNAIRE ITEMS?

46. WHY SHOULD AGENCIES CONSIDER USING QUESTIONS PREVIOUSLY USED BY OTHER AGENCIES OR

RESEARCHERS?

47. WHEN IS IT ACCEPTABLE TO DUPLICATE QUESTIONS USED ON OTHER SURVEYS?

48. WHAT TECHNIQUES CAN BE USED TO DEVELOP NEW QUESTIONS?

49. WHAT ROLE DOES PRETESTING PLAY IN QUESTIONNAIRE DEVELOPMENT?

50. WHAT DO AGENCIES NEED TO DO TO OBTAIN CLEARANCE FOR PRETESTING ACTIVITIES?

51. WHAT IS A GENERIC CLEARANCE FOR PRETESTING ACTIVITIES?

STATISTICAL STANDARDS

52. WHAT ARE OMB STATISTICAL CLASSIFICATIONS, DEFINITIONS, AND DATA SOURCES?

53. WHAT STATISTICAL CLASSIFICATIONS HAVE BEEN ADOPTED BY OMB?

54. WHAT STANDARD DEFINITIONS AND DATA SOURCES HAVE BEEN ADOPTED BY OMB?

55. WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR COLLECTING INDIVIDUAL DATA ON RACE AND ETHNICITY?

INFORMING RESPONDENTS ABOUT THEIR PARTICIPATION AND THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF

THEIR DATA

56. WHAT SHOULD RESPONDENTS BE TOLD ABOUT THEIR PARTICIPATION IN AN INFORMATION

COLLECTION?

57. WHAT IS A PLEDGE OF CONFIDENTIALITY AND HOW SHOULD A PLEDGE OF CONFIDENTIALITY BE

MADE TO RESPONDENTS?

58. WHAT LEGAL AUTHORITY DOES AN AGENCY HAVE TO PROTECT THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF

INFORMATION IT IS COLLECTING?

59. WHAT IS THE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION PROTECTION AND STATISTICAL EFFICIENCY ACT OF 2002

(CIPSEA)?

60. IF AN AGENCY DOES NOT COLLECT DATA UNDER CIPSEA, HOW CAN IT PROTECT THE

CONFIDENTIALITY OF THE DATA?

61. WHAT MUST BE DONE TO PROTECT DATA THAT ARE GATHERED UNDER A PLEDGE OF

CONFIDENTIALITY?

RESPONSE RATES AND INCENTIVES

62. WHY ARE RESPONSE RATES IMPORTANT?

63. HOW SHOULD RESPONSE RATES BE CALCULATED?

64. WHEN SHOULD WEIGHTED RESPONSE RATES BE REPORTED?

65. WHAT ARE TYPICAL RESPONSE RATES FOR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT STATISTICAL SURVEYS?

66. WHAT ARE ACCEPTABLE RESPONSE RATES FOR DIFFERENT KINDS OF SURVEY COLLECTIONS?

67. DO LONGITUDINAL AND MULTI-STAGE SURVEYS NEED TO ACHIEVE THE SAME LEVELS OF RESPONSE

RATES AS OTHER SURVEYS?

iv

RESPONSE RATES AND INCENTIVES (Continued)

68. ARE DIFFERENT RESPONSE RATES ACCEPTABLE FOR DIFFERENT MODES OF DATA COLLECTION?

69. HOW CAN RESPONSE RATES BE IMPROVED?

70. GIVEN THAT RANDOM DIGIT DIALING (RDD) TELEPHONE SURVEY RESPONSE RATES HAVE BEEN

DECLINING, WILL OMB APPROVE ICRS WITH THIS METHODOLOGY?

71. HOW CAN AGENCIES EXAMINE POTENTIAL NONRESPONSE BIAS?

72. WHAT RESPONSE RATE ISSUES ARE INVOLVED WITH USING SAMPLES DERIVED FROM PRE-EXISTING

MULTIPURPOSE PANELS, SUCH AS INTERNET OR CONSUMER PANELS?

73. WHAT SHOULD AGENCIES DO TO ASSESS AND DEAL WITH NONRESPONSE BIAS DUE TO ITEM

NONRESPONSE?

74. WHAT ARE INCENTIVES?

75. WHY MUST AGENCIES PROVIDE A JUSTIFICATION TO GIVE INCENTIVES TO RESPONDENTS?

76. WHAT FACTORS SHOULD AGENCIES ADDRESS IN THEIR JUSTIFICATION TO GIVE INCENTIVES TO

RESPONDENTS?

ANALYSIS AND REPORTING

77. WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD AGENCIES INCLUDE IN THEIR ANALYSIS PLANS?

78. WHAT PREDISSEMINATION REVIEW DO AGENCIES NEED TO DO FOR REPORTS BASED ON SURVEYS OR

STATISTICAL COLLECTIONS?

STUDIES USING STATED PREFERENCE METHODS

79. WHAT ARE STATED PREFERENCE METHODS?

80. WHAT SHOULD AGENCIES CONSIDER WHEN DESIGNING QUESTIONS FOR STATED PREFERENCE STUDIES? .74

81. WHAT FACTORS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED WHEN DESIGNING OR EVALUATING STUDIES USING STATED

PREFERENCE METHODS?

GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

APPENDICES

Purpose

PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDANCE

Federal agencies conduct or sponsor a wide variety of information collections to gather data from businesses, individuals, schools, hospitals, and State, local, and tribal governments. Information collections employing surveys are frequently used for general purpose statistics, as well as for program evaluations or research studies that answer more specific research questions. Data collected by Federal agencies are widely used to make informed decisions and to provide necessary information for policy makers and planners. The collection of this information can take many forms and is accomplished in a variety of ways.

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) requires agencies to submit requests to collect information from the public to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval. This guidance is designed to assist agencies and their contractors in preparing Information Collection Requests (ICRs), which may be commonly known as PRA submissions or “OMB clearance packages,” for surveys used for general purpose statistics or as part of program evaluations or research studies.

1. What is the purpose of this guidance?

OMB is often asked about the ICR review process and what its expectations are, especially for collections involving surveys. These Q&As are designed to answer many of the frequently asked questions to help agencies better understand OMB’s expectations for survey information collection requests. This improved understanding should assist agencies in identifying and documenting information for inclusion in their ICRs, and should facilitate the review process.

This guidance seeks to highlight a wide range of issues that agencies need to consider when designing their surveys. Different sections of this guidance provide a very brief overview of the literature on statistical sampling and different survey methodology topics; each section provides some useful references for more information on these issues. The goal of this guidance is to help agencies to better plan and document their information collections that use surveys.

Conducting a high quality survey is a complex undertaking, and this guidance cannot (and is not intended to) take the place of professional survey methodologists and statisticians that agencies will need to consult in designing, executing, and documenting their surveys. For agencies that do not have these professionals on staff or involved in a particular collection, this guidance points out some key areas where professional consultation will be needed.

2. Does this guidance apply to all ICRs submitted to OMB?

The next two sections of this guidance (on submission of ICRs to OMB and scope of the information collection) cover some general requirements under the PRA that can generally be applied to any information collection request an agency makes. However, the focus of this guidance is on conducting surveys for general purpose statistics or as part of program evaluations or research studies.

Purpose

Surveys represent only a small percentage of all ICRs that OMB reviews. Most ICRs submitted to OMB are mandatory recordkeeping requirements, applications, or audits that are not used for statistical purposes. Because surveys require that careful attention be paid to a variety of methodological and statistical issues, agencies are required to complete Part B of the ICR supporting statement to more fully document how the survey will be conducted and analyzed (see question #10). The focus of this guidance is to assist agencies in planning surveys and documenting their proposed surveys in their ICRs.

Submission of ICRs -

SUBMISSION OF ICRs TO OMB

This section covers some basic questions related to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) submissions that agencies prepare and submit to OMB including process issues, what is and is not covered by the PRA, and when agencies need to complete Part B of the Information Collection Request (ICR) supporting statement. Agencies should consult the OMB regulations implementing the PRA (5 C.F.R. § 1320) for more detailed and complete information.

3. When should an agency begin the PRA process?

The PRA requires that the agency publish a 60-day notice in the Federal Register to obtain public comment on the proposed collection, prior to submitting the information collection to OMB.1 At the time this notice is published, agencies must have at least a draft survey instrument available for the public to review. Agencies should state in their ICRs whether any comments were received from the public, and the comments should be addressed in the ICR that is submitted to OMB.

When submitting the ICR to OMB, agencies are required to place a second notice in the Federal Register, allowing a 30-day public comment period and notifying the public that OMB approval is being sought and that comments may be submitted to OMB. This notice runs concurrent with the first 30 days of OMB review, and OMB has a total of 60 days after receipt of the ICR to make its decision.2 Thus, agencies need to allow at least 120 days for consideration of initial public comments, the second public comment period and OMB review, plus additional time for preparation of the ICR, as well as time lags for publication of Federal Register notices.

Agencies may also have requirements for internal review or higher level reviews (e.g., departmental) that need to be factored into the schedule for planning a survey. A six month period, from the time the agency completes the ICR to OMB approval, is fairly common for planning purposes but varies considerably across agencies depending on internal review procedures. Thus, starting the process early can be very important to ensure timely data collection. Survey managers should consult with their agency paperwork clearance officers to ascertain what they need to do and the time required to meet agency and OMB requirements. In rare instances, the PRA does provide for expedited processing if an agency can justify an Emergency Collection (see question #9).

4. When should agencies talk to OMB about plans for a study?

The PRA and its implementing regulations provide a formal basis for OMB review of agency information collection requests. However, they do not preclude informal consultation with OMB desk officers prior to the submission of an ICR. Consultation with OMB prior to submission of an ICR is not required as part of the PRA and typically does not occur. However, if an agency is proposing a significant new collection about which it expects OMB may have questions or concerns, the agency is encouraged to consult with its OMB desk officer about the particular

1 5 C.F.R. § 1320.8(d)(1) 2 5 C.F.R. § 1320.10(a) collection in advance of submitting the ICR to OMB. When an agency is planning a new, large survey data collection, a major revision to an ongoing survey, or large-scale experiments or tests, agencies and OMB frequently find it helpful for the agency to brief OMB on the nature of the planned collection and the proposed methodology. In this less formal context, OMB and agency staff can discuss potential areas of concern, including the need for further detail and justification.

This kind of early consultation can considerably reduce the likelihood that major unexpected concerns about survey methodology or statistical sample design will arise during OMB review, and it allows more time for the agency to consider alternatives if necessary. Agencies can then address any issues identified by OMB in their ICRs. While this informal consultation does not affect the timing of the formal OMB review process under the PRA, it can be of benefit in identifying some issues much earlier and may avoid delays that could otherwise occur.

5. What does it mean for an agency to conduct or sponsor an information collection?

An agency conducts or sponsors an information collection if the agency collects the information using its own staff and resources, or causes another agency or entity to collect the information, or enters into a contract or cooperative agreement with another person or contractor to obtain the information.3 If the agency requests the collection directly or indirectly through another entity or contractor or exercises control over those collecting the information, the agency is conducting or sponsoring the collection (see also question #6).

6. When are studies involving third party or investigator-initiated grants subject to PRA review?

Collections of information conducted through investigator-initiated grants (e.g., in response to a Request for Applications (RFA)) are generally not subject to OMB review under the PRA.

However, information collections by a Federal grant recipient are subject to PRA review if (1) the grant recipient is conducting the collection at the specific request of the agency, or (2) the terms and conditions of the grant require specific approval by the agency for the collection or collection procedures.4 If either of these conditions is met, the sponsoring agency needs to seek and obtain OMB approval, and the grantee needs to display the OMB control number on the collection instrument.

For example, the National Science Foundation has many program areas that support basic research on a wide variety of topics. Proposals are reviewed by scientific panels and funding may be provided to a university researcher to study some topic, which may include a survey.

Although the National Science Foundation funded the research, it did not specifically request the survey, nor does the agency approve the collection or the collection procedures. However, if another agency gives the same researcher a grant to design and conduct a survey that the agency reviews and approves, then this collection would be covered by the PRA. Agencies are encouraged to discuss specific cases with their OMB desk officers prior to collecting the information to determine whether the collection is subject to OMB review under the PRA.

3 5 C.F.R. § 1320.3(d) 4 5 C.F.R. § 1320.3(d)

7. Are focus groups subject to PRA review?

There is no exemption for focus groups in the PRA. Agencies conducting focus groups must comply with the requirements detailed in 5 C.F.R. § 1320.3(c): “Collection of information means…the obtaining…of information by or for an agency by means of identical questions posed to, or identical reporting, record-keeping, or disclosure requirements imposed on, ten or more persons….” It then goes on to clarify “ten or more persons refers to the persons to whom a collection of information is addressed by the agency within any 12 month period.” Thus, focus groups are covered unless the total number of persons participating within a 12-month period is fewer than ten. For example, an agency conducting three focus groups of nine persons would be subject to the PRA because the total number of participants is greater than 10.

Although each focus group may not be asked the exact same questions in the same order, focus groups should be treated as information collections under the PRA if the same information is being sought from the groups. For example, an agency that is developing questions for a survey may convene a few focus groups in different areas of the country (or composed of people with different characteristics) and may have fairly wide ranging discussions on the topic of the survey in order to hear how the participants think about that topic and the vocabulary they use. Because the flow of discussion in the different groups may lead to different areas in more depth or at different points in the discussion, some parts of the protocol may not have been necessarily followed verbatim or may have occurred at a different point in one focus group than another.

However, the same information was still being sought by the agency and the collection is subject to the PRA, regardless of whether the exact questions or probes were used or used in the exact same order with each group.

When agencies submit their ICRs for focus groups to OMB, they should include the protocols or scripts for the discussion. Agencies that routinely conduct focus groups as part of their development of questionnaires (e.g., pretesting) may find it useful to obtain a generic clearance for focus groups (see questions #8, #50, #51).

In addition to using focus groups for pretesting, an agency may conduct focus groups as part of its collection of other information and in conjunction with other methods of data collection as part of an overall research study. For example, some program participants may participate in a focus group as part of a program evaluation that also includes other collections, such as surveys of program administrators and staff. In these cases, it is important that the focus groups are included and described in the ICR in the context of the collection the agency is conducting so that OMB can appropriately evaluate the entire scope of the study and the practical utility of the information the agency will obtain. Thus, agencies should include the respondent burden associated with the focus groups in the ICR along with the protocols or script for the focus groups.

8. What are generic clearances and when are these useful for agencies?

A generic clearance is a plan for conducting more than one collection of information using very similar methods. The review of this plan occurs in two stages: (1) a full PRA review of the generic clearance ICR, which includes the general approach and methodology, at least once every three years, and (2) an expedited review of the individual collections that fall within the scope of the generic clearance. A generic clearance is considered only when the agency is able to demonstrate that there is a need for multiple, similar collections, but that the specifics of each collection cannot be determined until shortly before the data are to be collected.

Collections that are appropriate for consideration as generic include methodological tests, focus groups, or other pretesting activities (see question #51), as well as many customer satisfaction surveys. For example, an agency may want to use a “core” satisfaction survey with its many customer groups, but may want to customize the questionnaire for different groups by including some specific questions related to a particular service or publication they use.

Each collection under the generic clearance must be well defined in the overarching ICR approved by OMB in terms of its sample or respondent pool and research methodology, and each individual collection should clearly fit within the overall plan. Individual collections should not raise any substantive or policy issues or go beyond the methods specified in the generic ICR.

Any individual collection that would require policy or methodological review is inappropriate for expedited review under the generic clearance and must go through the full PRA process. For example, a generic clearance is not appropriate for the collection of influential information (see question #18) and is probably not appropriate for large collections involving many respondents and high respondent burden. Agencies are encouraged to consult with their OMB desk officers before developing a generic clearance to determine whether their plans are appropriate for this type of clearance.

9. What needs to be done for an emergency clearance?

Agencies may submit an emergency ICR if the collection is both needed sooner than would be possible using normal procedures and is essential for the agency’s mission. In addition, the agency must demonstrate that the time to comply with the public comment provisions of the PRA would do any of the following: (1) result in public harm; (2) prevent the agency from responding to an unanticipated event; (3) prevent or disrupt the collection; or (4) cause the agency to miss a statutory or court-ordered deadline. This type of clearance should only be sought if the agency could not have reasonably foreseen the circumstances requiring collection;

it is not a substitute for inadequate planning.

Agencies submitting an emergency ICR must publish a Federal Register notice stating the collection is being reviewed under emergency processing procedures unless OMB waives this publication requirement. The emergency ICR must contain all of the information that would be submitted with a normal ICR. Agencies must also specify the date by which they would like OMB to act on the ICR. Approval for an emergency collection is valid for a maximum of six months. If longer approval is needed, the agency must also initiate the normal PRA approval process to take effect when the emergency clearance expires. Agencies are strongly encouraged to consult with their OMB desk officers prior to submitting a request for emergency clearance.

10. When do agencies need to complete Part B of the ICR Supporting Statement?

Agencies are instructed to complete Part B if they are using statistical methods, such as sampling, imputation, or other statistical estimation techniques; most research collections or program evaluations should also complete Part B.5 If an agency is planning to conduct a sample survey as part of its information collection, Part B of the ICR supporting statement must be completed, and an agency should also complete relevant portions of Part B when conducting a census survey (collections that are sent to the entire universe or population under study). For example, an agency doing a census of a small, well-defined population may not need to describe sampling procedures requested in Part B, but it should address what pretesting has taken place, what its data collection procedures are, how it will maximize response rates, and how it will deal with missing unit and item data.

Agencies conducting qualitative research studies or program evaluations, including case studies or focus groups, should also complete the relevant sections of Part B to provide a more complete description of the use of the information and the methods for collecting the information (see question #11).

11. Why do agencies need to complete some of Part B if they are conducting qualitative research studies or program evaluations?

Agencies need to specify how they plan to use the information they are collecting and how they will collect the information in order for OMB to properly evaluate an ICR that uses qualitative methods. There are elements of Part B that are not covered elsewhere in the justification that agencies should answer to appropriately describe the information collection. For example, an agency conducting case studies should specify in Part B:

• how the different sites and/or respondents will be selected,

• whether the agency intends to generalize beyond the specific sites and/or respondents selected,

• what pretesting has been done, and

• what different methods will be used to collect the information, e.g., in-person interviews, focus groups, observations, etc. and the protocols that will be followed to ensure high quality data are obtained.

In addition, as noted in questions #21 and #24, agencies will need to justify why they are not using statistical methods if their research questions are most appropriately addressed by a survey or other quantitative study.

5 See the instructions for supporting statements in Appendix A.

Useful Resources

Office of Management and Budget (August 1995). 5 C.F.R. § 1320 Controlling Paperwork

Burdens on the Public; Regulatory Changes Reflecting Recodification of the Paperwork Reduction Act. Federal Register, 60, No. 167, 44978-44996.

Scope

SCOPE OF THE INFORMATION COLLECTION

This section addresses questions related to the content of the Information Collection Requests (ICRs) submitted to OMB. The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) requires agencies to demonstrate the practical utility of the information that they propose to collect and to balance this against the burden imposed on the public. Thus, it is critical that agencies describe the need for the information and how it will be used. Without a clear justification, OMB cannot approve the collection. The burden on the public must also be completely accounted for and minimized to the extent practicable while still yielding useful information. Again, agencies should consult the OMB regulations implementing the PRA (5 C.F.R. § 1320) for more detailed and complete information.

12. Why is this data collection necessary and how will the information be used?

The PRA requires that agencies address how the information the agency is proposing to collect is necessary for the performance of the functions of the agency. First, agencies should identify legal or administrative requirements that authorize the collection and should include copies of the authorizing statute and regulations in their ICRs. Second, agencies must also justify why the information is needed and how it furthers the agency’s goals.

When appropriate, agencies should also highlight the knowledge gaps that the information collection is designed to address, including a brief review of existing information and the relevant scientific literature. If an agency proposes a research study or program evaluation that is designed to address specific research questions, it must demonstrate a direct connection between the information needs and the specific research questions. Thus, agencies should provide sufficient background information to support the need for the research questions (including a brief review of the relevant scientific literature) and how the study will meet that need. Agencies must also ensure that the collection does not duplicate other information accessible to the agency (but see question #47). If the information is a continuation of a prior collection, agencies should document how the information has been used and the continuing need for the collection.

The PRA also requires that the agency demonstrate the practical utility of the collection and the use the agency will make of the information. The supporting statement should always include a careful discussion of what the agency hopes to achieve by collecting the information and the quality of information that will be obtained employing the proposed design.

Agencies must also evaluate their intended use of information from the proposed collection in light of the OMB’s information quality guidelines for utility, integrity, and objectivity6 as well as the agency’s information quality guidelines. Based on that evaluation, agencies should be able to state in their ICRs that the proposed collection of information will result in information that will be collected, maintained, and used in a way consistent with the OMB and agency information quality guidelines (also see question #18).

6 Guidelines for ensuring and maximizing the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information disseminated by Federal agencies, 67 FR 8452-8460

13. How often should data be collected?

When submitting an information collection request (ICR) to OMB, agencies are required to describe the consequences of collecting data less frequently than proposed. While less frequent data collection reduces burden on the public, more frequent data collection can provide more current and useful information. For example, in longitudinal and panel surveys, more frequent collections allow for shorter reference periods between reports, which may reduce bias. The goal is to strike a balance between the need for current information and the need to reduce public reporting burden.

Most Federal data collections fall into one of two categories: continuing or one-time. Continuing data collections have an established frequency of collection (monthly, quarterly, annually, biannually, etc.). A one-time collection is conducted without the intention of collecting the same information again, or without an established collection pattern. The frequency of data collection is an issue when establishing a new continuing data collection, when renewing a continuing data collection, or when repeating a prior one-time survey.

When determining the frequency of data collection, the agency should consider the following:

• The timeliness of estimates requires high frequency collections. For example, the monthly unemployment rate is a key economic indicator, and the data must be collected monthly. Some collections are required by law to be collected at specific frequencies, e.g., the Decennial Census occurs every 10 years, and the Economic Censuses are conducted every 5 years (for years ending in 2 and 7).

• There is a reasonable expectation of significant change in key statistics between collections. For example, an agency may wish to conduct a customer satisfaction survey every year; however, if the agency has not made any changes in its programs, there would be no expectation for change. If the agency has started a new customer relations program, then a repeat of the customer satisfaction survey could be used to measure the effectiveness of that change. Another consideration in evaluating the frequency of a collection is the potential for seasonal variation. The need to capture cyclical patterns might justify either monthly or quarterly collection.

• The frequency of collection has an effect on data quality. For example, the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) is a longitudinal survey that captures a month-by-month accounting of income and governmental transfers such as Social Security, welfare, food stamps, etc. Pretesting of two different collection periods showed significant differences in the data quality between the three-month and six-month time frames, requiring the use of a shorter period. SIPP adopted a four-month time frame for data collection and reference period, which provided nearly the same quality of data as the three-month time frame with a 25 percent reduction in respondent burden.

• Reduced frequency would have an adverse impact on agency programs. If an agency program requires data with a specified frequency, the agency needs to detail how the data will be used and how the agency would be hindered by less frequent information.

14. What is included in the calculation of burden hours?

Burden hours are a measure of the time it takes respondents to review instructions, search data sources, complete and review their responses, and transmit or disclose information. Estimating burden for household surveys is typically done by timing the completion of interviews done in previous administrations of the survey or in pretests (using 9 or fewer persons) and developing an average time.

Estimating burden for establishment surveys is more complicated because respondents often have to search for information before answering the survey questions. Agencies must first identify all the steps a respondent takes in order to comply with the survey request, and then estimate the time for each step to arrive at a total burden per respondent. The aggregate burden of an ICR is the average burden per respondent multiplied by the number of expected respondents and should be reported in section A.12 of the ICR.

15. For establishment surveys or panel surveys, should burden hours include the original collection of administrative records that may have taken place months or years before?

Generally, surveys of business establishments ask a respondent to aggregate and report data that the establishment already has somewhere in files or databases. Burden hours for these surveys should include only the time it takes to locate the source data and aggregate them. The estimate should not include the time originally taken to collect information in administrative records that were compiled by the establishment for its own purposes, such as accounting records. For example, there are a variety of reporting and recordkeeping requirements in the equal employment opportunity arena. These reports usually ask for summary demographic and job data on employees, and respondents often obtain the data needed from existing personnel files, records, or databases. Agencies SHOULD NOT count the time involved in the original collection of the demographic data from the employees but SHOULD count the time it takes to access the personnel files, aggregate the requested data, and report the data on the agency form.

For panel or longitudinal surveys, agencies SHOULD count the time it takes respondents to begin their participation in a panel in the initial ICR for the recruitment and baseline collection.

However, this time SHOULD NOT be counted in subsequent ICRs that concern later collections.

Agencies SHOULD count only the hours associated with the collection of information described in the current ICR. For example, the Survey of Income and Program Participation selects respondents to participate in interviews every four months (called waves) for the duration of a panel—usually 3 or 4 years. Each wave has a set of core questions used in all waves and a topical module that differs from one wave to the next. In essence, each wave is treated as a unique survey and the burden associated with answering all the questions in a wave is reported.

In this case, the agency SHOULD count the burden of recruitment and the initial collection in the ICR for wave 1; however, the agency SHOULD NOT count the original recruitment of the individual into the survey panel in the ICRs for later waves.

16. Why are agencies required to estimate the burden in terms of both time and costs?

The term "burden" means the "time, effort, or financial resources" the public expends to provide information to or for a Federal agency, or otherwise fulfill statutory or regulatory requirements.7 Currently, agencies separately estimate the "hour burden" and "cost burden" of each particular information collection in their supporting statements in A.12 and A.13, respectively. This ensures that both types of burden are taken into account.

Thus, for establishment surveys, in addition to the hour burden for reviewing instructions, searching data sources, completing and reviewing responses, and transmitting or disclosing information, there may also be capital, operation, and maintenance costs associated with generating and maintaining the information. Agencies should include costs that respondents incur for developing, acquiring, installing, and utilizing technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, verifying, processing, maintaining, disclosing, and providing information, as well as costs incurred by respondents adjusting to changes from previous instructions, and training personnel to be able to respond to a collection. These costs may be borne directly by the respondent or indirectly by their subordinates, agents, or contractors.

The PRA requires that the agency demonstrate the practical utility of the collection and demonstrate that the burden of the collection both in terms of hours and other costs is justified given the agency’s need for the information and the use the agency will make of the information.

Office of Management and Budget (August 1995). 5 C.F.R. § 1320 Controlling Paperwork

Burdens on the Public; Regulatory Changes Reflecting Recodification of the Paperwork Reduction Act. Federal Register, 60, No. 167, 44978-44996.

7 44 U.S.C. § 3502(2); 5 C.F.R. 1320.3(b).

Choice of Methods

CHOICE OF METHODS

This section is intended as a broad overview of many specialized methodologies. One can often find entire textbooks devoted to one or more methods; thus, the purpose of this section is simply to call attention to some basic considerations agencies should explain and justify in their ICRs when proposing to conduct studies that use these methods. The method selected must also be appropriate for the intended use of the information. Agencies should consult with experts in the particular methods to design and implement their studies.

17. How does the choice of methods for the study relate to the research questions or purpose of the collection?

The methodology for the study should be driven by the kinds of questions the agency needs to answer or the general purpose of the collection. Sometimes agencies collect information for general statistical purposes that may be used by a wide variety of different parties to address many different questions. In this case, the design of the survey or study should reflect these multiple uses and be clear about its strengths and limitations for different purposes, and agencies should consult with appropriate stakeholders and experts when designing their studies to ensure the relevant questions are addressed. In other cases, agencies need to answer very specific questions, and the design needs to be appropriately focused to answer those questions well.

Agencies should carefully consider the kinds of questions the information collection needs to answer and the strengths and limitations of different methods to answer those questions. For example, if an agency wishes to know whether a program caused some change to occur in those served by the program, appropriate methods, such as an experimental design, will need to be employed. In this case, agencies will need to do considerable advance planning to randomly assign participants to experimental or control conditions to evaluate the program. If an experimental design is not possible or practical, then a quasi-experimental design or other design may be used by the agency. Agencies need to justify how their choice of methdology will be able to provide the information needed to address the research question and discuss the limitations as well as the strengths of the methodology for the particular purpose (see question #26).

In order to address complex and multi-faceted research questions, an agency may need to plan a program of research and use multi-method approaches to obtain all the information needed.

When more than a single study is planned to address the research questions, the agency should include a brief description of the complete research program (including studies not yet approved) in its ICRs and refer to previously approved collections (by their OMB number) to explain how the study fits into the larger program and support how the complete program will provide the agency with the information it needs. If the agency is supplementing its survey collection with administrative or other available data, this should also be described. In addition, the general timeframe for the other components should be included.

18. How do the use of the information and choice of methods for the study relate to the agency’s information quality guidelines?

A primary consideration for an agency in designing its information collections should be how the agency intends to use the information it is gathering. Agencies use information collected through surveys for a variety of purposes. Some information is intended to be “influential information.” As defined in OMB and agency Information Quality Guidelines, “influential” means that “an agency can reasonably determine that dissemination of the information will have or does have a clear and substantial impact on important public policies or important private sector decisions.” The Information Quality Guidelines require that agencies hold the information they designate as “influential” to a higher standard of reproducibility and transparency than information that is not defined as influential. For example, some survey results directly or indirectly feed into Principal Federal Economic Indicators that are widely watched and have broad impact on government, business, and individual decisions. In other situations, one agency may use the information collected by another agency to support health and safety assessments that in turn affect both public and private sector decisions.

As part of their ICRs, agencies report how they intend to use the information they are proposing to gather. Agencies should explain how the methods they have chosen to employ will yield information of sufficient quality for its intended purpose. For example, if an agency wishes to generalize the results of a survey beyond the particular cases sampled, it must utilize appropriate statistical sampling methods (see question #30) to yield information that has sufficient precision and accuracy (see question #33). Because more rigorous methods often entail higher cost, agencies need to carefully consider the resources that will be required to obtain information of sufficient quality for the intended uses. Agencies should be able to certify explicitly in their ICRs that the proposed collection of information will result in information that will be collected, maintained, and used in a way consistent with the OMB and agency information quality guidelines, or they should not propose to collect the information.

19. When should agencies consider conducting a survey?

When the research question or purpose of the study is to produce descriptive information about a population, agencies should consider conducting a survey. Surveys may be conducted to provide general purpose statistics on the national (or some target) population, or they may be used as part of a research study, experiment, or program evaluation. For example, an evaluation of a federally funded school program may be done by conducting surveys of school principals, teachers, and district administrators to obtain information from each about the implementation or results of the program. However, surveys are often only one source of information that an agency may need, especially when conducting program evaluations. Agencies should also examine how they can obtain other appropriate outcome measures, including the use of administrative records.

When properly done with an appropriate sample design, a survey can provide broad descriptive information about a population and subgroups, as well as information about relationships among variables or constructs that are being measured. Generally, the results from surveys are only descriptive or correlational. When surveys are used in the context of an experimental design, quasi-experimental design, or longitudinal study, stronger causal inferences may be warranted;

however, agencies will need to carefully consider the limitations of the study and other potential explanations when drawing causal conclusions.

Because they are designed to gather standardized information from an often relatively large number of persons or entities, surveys may not be able to provide the degree of detail that can be obtained through qualitative or case study methods. Furthermore, the standardization of questions requires that the concepts that are being measured be well known and understood, and shown to be reliable and valid. Thus, it may be premature to conduct a survey when an agency is in a more exploratory mode, trying to develop research questions, or understand the characteristics that need to be measured. It is not appropriate for agencies to conduct developmental activities to define a concept and then attempt to use those same findings to test hypotheses (see question #21). A separate survey is needed to test the hypothesis.

20. What should agencies consider when designing and conducting a survey?

The quality of a survey design can be judged by the strategies that are taken to prevent, adjust for, and measure potential problems and sources of error in surveys. How well a survey is designed and conducted can lead to either more or less variance (or noise) or bias (or systematic errors) in results. Well-designed and conducted surveys anticipate potential problems and try to prevent or minimize the impact of different sources of error as much as possible. Additionally, good surveys make efforts to measure and adjust for errors that are not controlled. The best surveys are those that check and verify each step of the research process. Common sources of error in surveys include sampling (due to measuring only a subset of the population), coverage (due to mismatches between the population and the lists used to draw the sample), nonresponse (due to failure to measure some sampled units), measurement (due to mismatches between data sought and data provided), and processing (due to editing or imputation). These topics are dealt with in greater detail in the following sections of this guidance.

For example, measurement errors can be reduced through careful questionnaire design and pretesting (see Questionnaire Design and Development). A field test comparing alternative versions (or revised versions) of key questions may provide insights into sensitivity of answers to alternative wording (see questions #22, #23, and #49). Agencies can also reinterview a subsample of respondents to measure instability in responses. Sometimes, survey results can also be checked against administrative records; however, there may be differences in definition and coverage between the information available from records and the survey that need to be carefully considered when assessing the results of the comparison. Similarly, potential nonresponse bias can be reduced by following a variety of strategies to maximize response rates or repair imbalances in the respondent pool (see questions #69 and #70). Bias can be measured in special nonresponse bias studies (see question #71) and adjustments can be made to weights to attempt to reduce bias.

Agencies designing and conducting surveys need to consider all of the potential sources of errors and plan to adequately prevent, measure, and adjust for them. Conducting a high quality survey requires careful planning and sufficient resources to yield quality data that have practical utility for the agency. Agencies should carefully document and justify the adequacy of their survey methods in their ICRs. Specifically, agencies should provide information about the target population, the sampling frame used and its coverage of the target population, the design of the sample (including any stratification or clustering), the size of the sample and the precision needed for key estimates, the expected response rate (see question #63), the expected item non-response rate for critical questions, the exact wording and sequence of questions and other information provided to respondents, data collection methods and procedures, and the training of interviewers (if applicable). In addition, agencies need to take into account what is known about the different sources of error in their analysis and interpretation of the results from the survey.

Experts in survey methodology within and outside the agencies can be helpful to inform this process. Agencies should be transparent and report in their ICRs the methods they plan to use, what is known about the different sources of error, and the impact of the errors on the analytic results.8

21. When should agencies consider conducting a qualitative study?

An agency may want to consider a qualitative study under a variety of circumstances. In contrast to gathering numerical information or data that can be quantified, a qualitative study uses unstructured interviews, notes, or observations that are typically difficult to quantify.