[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 61 (Wednesday, March 31, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16070-16071]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-7177]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of 
information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. chapter 35).
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: 2010 Census Quality Survey.
    Form Number(s): D-1R1.
    OMB Control Number: None.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Burden Hours: 43,810.
    Number of Respondents: 262,857.
    Average Hours per Response: 10 minutes.
    Needs and Uses: As the 2010 Census nears, planning for the 2020 
Census is already underway. One particular area of interest for the 
2020 Census is to make the Census cost-effective and accurate. The 
Census Bureau will explore the use of the Internet for the 2020 Census 
as an alternative means for the public to respond to the Census. 
Therefore, we have established the 2010 Census Quality Survey (CQS), 
formerly known as the Internet Reinterview Evaluation, as a research 
component under the 2010 Census Program for Evaluations and Experiments 
(CPEX).
    Projects under the 2010 CPEX will guide future census design as 
well as benefit other ongoing programs conducted by the Census Bureau, 
such as the American Community Survey.
    As with previous decennial censuses dating back to 1950, the Census 
Bureau conducts a formal program to assess the census and experimental 
tests that examine methodologies, techniques, and strategies that will 
potentially improve the way the Census Bureau conducts the next 
decennial census. For experimental studies, the actual decennial census 
environment is required because it provides the necessary conditions to 
learn the true effects of new ideas within the context of the actual 
effects of national advertising, outreach partnerships, and other 
events that occur only during a census.
    The 2010 CQS seeks to build on previous Internet data collection 
research in order to set the stage for the Internet testing cycle for 
the 2020 Census. The main objective is to estimate measurement errors, 
such as simple response variance and bias of responses from a census 
mail questionnaire compared to those from a census Internet 
questionnaire. The reinterviews will be conducted with a sample of 2010 
Census mail respondents in order to provide estimates of measurement 
errors associated with the design and content of a self-administered 
census Internet questionnaire. Since the measurement error structure 
may differ depending on whether a respondent has only one response mode 
option (i.e. mail or Internet) versus having a choice between the two 
modes, we are testing both `push' and `choice' strategies. A sample of 
the 2010 Census mail questionnaire respondents will be invited to 
complete an Internet reinterview (`push' Internet), which has the same 
content as the 2010 mail questionnaire. A separate sample of the 2010 
Census mail questionnaire respondents will be invited to complete a 
mail reinterview (`push' mail) with the same 2010 content. A third 
sample of the 2010 Census mail questionnaire respondents will be 
invited to complete a reinterview with the choice of mail or Internet 
modes (`choice' Internet/mail).

[[Page 16071]]

    The data from the Internet reinterview will be compared with the 
data from the mail reinterview to provide additional information for 
estimating measurement errors associated with responses from each of 
the data collection modes as well as response option strategies. 
Internet reinterview data will also be compared to 2010 Census mail 
questionnaire data for the same households to estimate gross difference 
rates. A similar comparison will be made for the mail reinterview to 
estimate gross difference rates for the mail mode. These gross 
difference rates will be compared to estimate the measurement error 
that arises from Internet versus census mail questionnaires. In 
addition to estimating measurement errors, a key objective of the 
evaluation is to collect data related to respondent interaction with a 
census Internet questionnaire such as break-off rates and completion 
times. Laboratory usability testing will also provide data (e.g., eye-
tracking and mouse-tracing results) on navigational issues. Note that 
we are currently considering tracing mouse movement for a sample of 
survey respondents, which would include presentation of an informed 
consent statement.
    The Internet and mail reinterviews will be conducted in late summer 
of 2010, after the census enumeration activities have been completed, 
to minimize the risk to the 2010 Census data collection. However, the 
reinterviews will be conducted as close to the census enumeration as 
feasible to effectively compare reinterview results to the 2010 Census 
self-administered mail questionnaire. Presumably, the results collected 
within the census environment will reflect a more generalizable 
measurement error structure than results from a mid-decade census test 
instrument. In addition, we hope to capitalize on respondents' 
awareness of the 2010 Census to obtain a higher response to the 
reinterviews than would be possible in the absence of the 2010 Census 
environment. However, for the Internet reinterview, compliance may 
suffer from public messaging informing potential respondents that there 
is no Internet response option in the 2010 Census.
    As with all CPEX experiments and evaluations, the 2010 CQS is 
primarily designed for use by the Census Bureau to inform early 2020 
Census testing and planning. The intent is to use the 2010 CQS 
quantitative results, in combination with the usability laboratory 
results, to focus the Census Bureau's Internet development/design 
resources for early decade testing. This questionnaire design work will 
be integrated with response option and contact strategy research within 
the 2020 testing cycle to establish the optimal Internet data 
collection strategy for the 2020 Census.
    The 2010 CQS is intended to provide estimates of measurement error 
associated with the design and content of a self-administered census 
Internet questionnaire. The overall goal is to design the most 
effective census Internet questionnaire, given the time and resource 
constraints, and then evaluate its associated measurement error and 
usability issues. The Internet instrument is not intended to simply 
replicate the 2010 Census mail questionnaire in an electronic mode. 
Rather, the goal is to evaluate measurement error associated with an 
Internet questionnaire that exploits the advantages of the electronic 
technology, while still retaining the meaning and intent of the 
questions and response options from the mail form. Likewise, this 
evaluation is not intended to evaluate public compliance (as measured 
by unit-level response rates). An Internet response strategy study 
within the 2010 Census production cycle (or shortly after) would be 
limited by the 2010 Integrated Communication Program (ICP) messages 
stating that there is no Internet data collection for the 2010 Census.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Frequency: One-time only.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, Sections 141 and 
193.
    OMB Desk Officer: Brian Harris-Kojetin, (202) 395-7314.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance 
Officer, (202) 482-0266, Department of Commerce, Room 6625, 14th and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at 
[email protected]).
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB Desk Officer either by fax (202-395-7245) 
or e-mail ([email protected]).

    Dated: March 26, 2010.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2010-7177 Filed 3-30-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P