[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 94 (Wednesday, May 15, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21750-21751]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-10021]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Generic 
Clearance for Questionnaire Pretesting Research

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on 
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted on 
or before July 15, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th 
and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230 (or via the internet 
at [email protected]). You may also submit comments, identified by Docket 
Number USBC-2019-0004, to the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. All comments received are part of the public 
record. No comments will be posted to http://www.regulations.gov for 
public viewing until after the comment period has closed. Comments will 
generally be posted without change. All Personally Identifiable 
Information (for example, name and address) voluntarily submitted by 
the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit Confidential 
Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information. 
You may submit attachments to electronic comments in Microsoft Word, 
Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions 
should be directed to Jennifer Hunter Childs, U.S. Census Bureau, 4600 
Silver Hill Road, Washington, DC 20233-9150, (202) 603-4827 (or via the 
internet at [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

I. Abstract

    The Census Bureau plans to request an extension of the current OMB 
approval to conduct a variety of small-scale questionnaire pretesting 
activities under this generic clearance. A block of hours will be 
dedicated to these activities for each of the next three years. OMB 
will be informed in writing of the purpose and scope of each of these 
activities, as well as the time frame and the number of burden hours 
used. The number of hours used will not exceed the number set aside for 
this purpose.
    This research program will be used by the Census Bureau and survey 
sponsors to improve questionnaires and procedures, reduce respondent 
burden, and ultimately increase the quality of data collected in the 
Census Bureau censuses and surveys. The clearance will be used to 
conduct pretesting of decennial, demographic, and economic census and 
survey questionnaires prior to fielding them. Pretesting activities 
will involve one of the following methods for identifying measurement 
problems with the questionnaire or survey procedure: Cognitive 
interviews, focus groups, respondent debriefing, behavior coding of 
respondent/interviewer interaction, and split panel tests.

II. Method of Collection

    Any of the following methods may be used: Mail, telephone, face-to-
face; paper-and-pencil, CATI, CAPI, internet, mobile device, or IVR.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-0725.
    Form Number(s): Various.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households, businesses or other for 
profit, farms.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 5,500 per year.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1 hour.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 5,500 hours annually.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: There is no cost to the 
respondent other than time to answer the information request.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Data collection for this project is authorized 
under the authorizing legislation for the questionnaire being tested. 
This may be Title 13, Sections 131, 141, 161, 181, 182, 193, and 301 
for Census Bureau-sponsored surveys, and Title 13 for surveys sponsored 
by other Federal agencies. We do not now know what other titles will be 
referenced, since we

[[Page 21751]]

do not know what survey questionnaires will be pretested during the 
course of the clearance.

IV. Request for Comments

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

Sheleen Dumas,
Departmental Lead PRA Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, 
Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2019-10021 Filed 5-14-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P