[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 124 (Wednesday, June 29, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38703-38704]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-13853]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Generic Clearance for Questionnaire Pretesting Research

AGENCY: Census Bureau, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information 
collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information 
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The 
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment on the 
proposed extension of Generic Clearance for Questionnaire Pretesting 
Research, prior to the submission of the information collection request 
(ICR) to OMB for approval.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed 
information collection must be received on or before August 29, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by 
email to Jennifer Hunter Childs ([email protected]). 
Please reference Generic Clearance for Questionnaire Pretesting 
Research in the subject line of your comments. You may also submit 
comments, identified by Docket Number USBC-2022-0011, 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.

[[Page 38704]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed 
to Jennifer Hunter Childs, Assistant Center Chief, Emerging Methods and 
Applications, Center for Behavioral Science Methods, (202) 603-4827, 
[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, Request for an Extension, 
without Change, of a Currently Approved Collection.
    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 do not know what survey questionnaires will be 
pretested during the course of the clearance.

IV. Request for Comments

    We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau 
to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is 
necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether 
the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy 
of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed 
collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden 
on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include, or summarize, each comment in our 
request to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, 
phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information 
in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--
including your personal identifying information--may be made publicly 
available at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold 
your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2022-13853 Filed 6-28-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P