Basic Monthly Survey Methodology and Documentation Page
This section provides important background information that you will need to know before starting a CPS interview. Among the topics discussed in this section are:
Show your official Census I.D. and identify yourself. Give the following introduction (or a similar introduction):
If (s)he did not receive the letter, give him/her a copy and allow time to read it. Then proceed with the survey. At this point you should be at the INTRO-B screen and ready to begin the interview. (Figure A1 below.)
>introb<
(IS RESPONDENT READY TO COMPLETE THE INTERVIEW?)
<1> Inconvenient time. Callback needed.
<2> Reluctant Respondent hold for refusal follow-up
<0> Other outcome OR problem interviewing respondent.
<W> Wrong address (wrong case selected)
ENTER <P> TO PROCEED WITH THE INTERVIEW
===>_
The information collected in the CPS is authorized by the following:
Title 13, U.S. Code, Section 182
Authorizes the Census Bureau to collect statistical information.
Title 29, U.S. Code, Sections 1-9
Authorizes the Bureau of Labor Statistics to collect labor force statistics.
Title 38, U.S. Code, Section 219
Authorizes the Census Bureau to collect information for the Department of Veterans' Affairs.
Public Laws 89-10, 92-318, 93-380
Authorizes the Census Bureau to collect information on education.
Within the context of the CPS, the term confidentiality refers to our guarantee to individuals who provide survey information. The name, address, and other information that would identify an individual is not available to persons other than sworn Census Bureau employees, as Title 13 requires.
You must avoid mentioning or providing anyone with materials that would link a specific household or person with a specific survey. When discussing your job, be careful never to reveal any information you get during an interview
to an unauthorized person.
There are severe penalties for revealing any information gathered in a Census Bureau survey that would identify an individual. Unauthorized disclosure of individual information by a sworn Census Bureau employee is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 and imprisonment of up to 5 years.
Any household member 15 years of age or older is technically eligible to act as a respondent. If at all possible, try to interview the most knowledgeable member of the household. In most situations, this individual will be the reference person or the spouse of the reference person.
Reference person. The first person mentioned by the respondent, who either owns or rents the "sample unit" (e.g., house, apartment).
If it becomes obvious that the household member you are interviewing is unable to answer the survey questions, ask to speak to a more knowledgeable respondent. If a more knowledgeable respondent is not available arrange to call back when one is available.
You begin to build a harmonious relationship with the respondent when (s)he first answers the door or phone. Maintaining this rapport throughout the interview will ensure that you collect full and valid information. Through your sincere understanding and interest in the respondent, you provide a friendly atmosphere in which the respondent can talk honestly and fully. If rapport is broken because the respondent finds a particular question "too personal" take time to reassure him/her about the confidential nature of the survey.
A small percentage of respondents will want additional information before agreeing to participate in the survey. Some respondents may be reluctant to provide information about themselves or family members or may refuse to be interviewed. It is your responsibility to sell the survey. A good selling job at the very beginning of the survey (that is, the initial interview) will eliminate trouble for you and your fellow field representatives and interviewers in succeeding months. You can bring up a list of help screens available for many commonly asked questions at any time by hitting the [Shift] and [F2] keys simultaneously. See Figure A2 below.
To convert reluctant respondents, try to identify his or her specific objection(s) to participating in the survey and tailor your answer accordingly.
A thorough understanding of the survey is the key to a good explanation. The following are a few examples of questions you may receive and suggested responses.
"The Bureau conducts the Current Population Survey each month to provide an uptodate estimate of the number of persons working, the number who are unemployed, and many other related facts. Occasionally we ask additional questions on education, health, family income, housing, and other important subjects."
"It is extremely important to know how many persons are out of work from month to month. Government officials, labor groups, and business people need accurate information on the current unemployment situation to know how many and what types of jobs are needed. It is easier to resolve employment problems if we know well in advance the direction the economy is moving in."
>Purpose< ***FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS***
<1> WHAT IS THIS SURVEY ALL ABOUT?
<2> WHO USES THIS INFORMATION? WHAT GOOD IS IT?
<3> HOW WAS I SELECTED FOR THIS SURVEY?
<4> HOW MANY TIMES WILL I BE INTERVIEWED? OR WHY AM I INTERVIEWED FOR 8 MONTHS?
<5> I HESITATE TO TELL SOME THINGS ABOUT MYSELF. WHAT PROTECTION DO I HAVE?
<6> IS THIS SURVEY AUTHORIZED BY LAW?
<7> WHY DO YOU INCLUDE ME? I'M RETIRED.
<8> TOLL FREE (800) NUMBER.
OR, ENTER <P> TO PROCEED WITH THE INTERVIEW.
===>_
"In a country as big as ours and one that changes so rapidly between decennial censuses, people in government, business, and other groups need uptodate facts in order to plan efficient and adequate programs. It is important to know how many people are working or out of work (to help direct programs which would contribute to an expanding economy and provide new jobs), how many children will be attending school (to plan for schools and the training of an adequate number of teachers), how many new families are forming (to plan for adequate housing to meet their needs), and so on. The CPS is one of the most important and timely sources of information used to make such plans." See Part A, Chapter 1 for a discussion of the uses of CPS data.
"Actually, we selected your address,rather than you personally, for this survey. Each month, we scientifically select about 18,000 groups of addresses to represent the United States. Each of the address groups contains about four housing units and altogether result in about 56,000 interviewed households each month. If you should move away while your address is still in the survey, we would interview the family that moves in."
"We interview occupants of a selected dwelling for 8 months, 4 consecutive months in the current year and the same 4 months in the following year."
"We interview for 8 months because it is important to see if the employment situation of the occupant changes. It is also less expensive to interview the same dwelling for 8 months."
"All information individuals give to the Census Bureau is held in the strictest confidence by law (title 13, United States Code, section 9). All Census Bureau employees have taken an oath to this effect and are subject to a jail penalty and a fine if we disclose any information survey respondents give us."
"Yes. Title 13, United States Code, section 182, and title 29, United States Code, sections 1 through 9, authorized the collection of most of the information we request in this survey.
Sometimes older persons refuse to participate because they do not feel the survey applies to them. The following may help you explain the survey to them:
"Our economy is greatly influenced by the growing number of senior Americans, like yourself. Though many seniors are retired, others are still active members of the labor force. We need to gather information on each group, because the two groups affect the economy in different ways. Failure to include people such as yourself diminishes the government's ability to plan adequately for this large and growing part of our population. We are counting on your participation."
The level of unemployment affects almost everyone. When a lot of people are out of work, the entire economy suffers. The suffering is not limited to those individuals who cannot find a job. Business people will experience slumping sales. Professionals will find clients unable to pay bills. Salaried employees may suffer reduction in pay or hours. Farmers will find demand for their products dropping. In sum, when employment declines, almost everyone suffers.
Some respondents may say that they already reported this information in the Decennial Census. The following approach may be useful in clarifying differences:
"The Census Bureau conducts the Decennial Census every 10 years. It gives government officials a good idea of how many people are living in this country. We conduct labor force surveys monthly to determine how many Americans are employed and unemployed each month."
The fact that participation in the CPS is voluntary does not diminish your responsibility to convert reluctant respondents. When a person says the survey is voluntary and that (s)he would prefer not to participate, the following points may help you to obtain an interview:
The first month a household is in sample the first few screens allow you to verify the segment and housing unit listing. You also will record the household roster and collect demographic information for each household member listed. Following are a few examples of the information collected in the first month's interview:
Ask exactly as worded
You must ask questions exactly as worded so they will yield comparable results. Avoid changing words or phrases and adding or dropping words to the question.
Ask every question
Although the answer to a particular question may seem obvious to you, do not fill the answer without asking the question. The respondent may provide an answer which applies to a question asked later in the interview. In this case you may verify the answer to the question. It is important that you ask or verify each applicable question.
If the respondent misunderstands or misinterprets a question:
Repeat the question as worded and give the respondent another chance to answer.
If you still do not get an acceptable response, use the probing techniques discussed below.
When the respondent's answer does not meet the question's objective, probe to clarify or expand his/her answer.
The probing procedures listed below are useful in stimulating discussion. Introduce these devices casually as a natural expression of interest.
Brief assenting comments, such as - "Yes, I see," show the respondent that you are giving your attention to the answer. They often stimulate the respondent to talk further.
An expectant pause accompanied by an inquiring look after the respondent has given only a brief reply often conveys to the respondent that (s)he has merely begun answering the question. It will often bring forth further response.
Repeating the question or listing the response categories (when applicable) is useful when the respondent does not understand the question, misinterprets it, seems unable to make up his/her mind, or strays from the subject.
Repeating the respondent's reply is useful in helping to clarify the response and prompting the respondent to enlarge upon his/her statement. Be sure you adhere strictly to the respondent's answer and do not interject your own ideas.
Neutral questions (probes) in a neutral tone of voice will bring fuller, clearer responses. For example:
"I don't quite understand what you mean."
or
"Which figure would you say comes closest?" (Probe to clarify hours worked last week, weeks looking for work, or income.)
Such questions show your interest and are successful when used correctly. You must immediately recognize how the respondent's answer fails to meet the question objective and use a neutral probe to get the correct information. Your manner of asking neutral questions is important; a sharp demanding tone can damage rapport. It is sometimes good for you to appear slightly bewildered by the respondent's answer. Indicate in your probe that it might be you who did not understand. (For example "I'm not sure what you mean by that, could you tell me a little more?") This can arouse the respondent's desire to help someone who is trying to do a good job. However, do not overplay this technique. The respondent should not get the feeling that you do not know when a question is properly answered.
Interviewers often have to separate the facts wanted from the respondent's attitudes. The basic procedure is:
We have stressed that you need to stimulate discussion. This does not mean that you should influence the respondent's answer or unnecessarily prolong the interview. Probing should be as neutral as possible so you do not distort the respondent's answers. When you ask neutral questions of all respondents, we have comparability between all the interviewers in the survey. If each interviewer asks a leading probe, we would not be comparing responses to the same questions. This would thoroughly defeat the goal of having a standardized survey.
Respondents do not always mean what they first say. The "I don't know" answer might mean:
Discussion often presents a truer picture of the respondent's thoughts and may help you determine if you should probe further.
Noninterview Household. A household for which you can not obtain information because:
Noninterviews fall into three groupsType A, B, and C. The Type A group consists of households occupied by persons eligible for interview, who you should have interviewed, but could not.
Sample units which you do not interview for other reasons are Type B or C noninterviews. Refer to Part C, chapter 6 for a detailed discussion of noninterview types and procedures.
You will need to make a personal visit to units in your assignment that were noninterviews the previous month. The exception is those households reported as Type C noninterviews (since they are ineligible for sample) and the one Type B situation described below.
If all the following conditions exist, you can complete the CPS by telephone for a Type B noninterview without making a personal visit to the unit.
1. The unit was a Type B noninterview in the preceding month.
2. The unit is very far from your home, and you are not planning to return to the area for other interviews.
3. You have the name and telephone number of a reliable respondent (owner, rental agent, knowledgeable neighbor, or local merchant) and a telephone interview is acceptable with that person.
If one of the above conditions is not met, you must make a personal visit to the sample unit.
After completing the labor force section of the interview and collecting any supplement information (if necessary), you are ready to end the interview. The last section of the interview requests a phone number, if one is available. It helps you determine if the household will be available next month, if a Sunday interview is possible, and exits you from the interview. We call this the "BACK" portion of the interview.
Be sure that you leave the respondent with a friendly feeling towards you and the Census Bureau, so the way is clear for future contacts.
END OF PART A
The next section of this manual contains CPS labor force concepts.
Basic Monthly Survey Methodology and Documentation Page
CPS Main Page