Basic Monthly Survey Methodology and Documentation Page
The beginning of the Current Population Survey (CPS) instrument consists of a series of questions that establish if you are interviewing the correct household. This is the "FRONT" of the interview.
This section covers several of the screens in the front portion of the interview. You can tell which screen you are on by looking at the upper left hand corner of the screen. The name of the screen appears between two brackets. For example, you will see >start< (Figure C6) in the upper left hand corner of the "Start Screen", which is the first screen you see. It introduces you to the survey. It displays the status of the case and the current date and time.
The first option (T) takes you through a telephone interview. The second option (P) follows the introductory screens for a personal interview. The third option (S) skips you over the notes and goes directly to the INTRO-B screen. (An additional option (1, Ready to Transmit will appear for interviews with a current outcome code of 204). CATI interviewers do not need these options, since they conduct only telephone interviews and their completed interviews are automatically sent to headquarters.
The date at the top right of this screen is the instrument date and will be different each month.
>start< CENSUS CATI/CAPI SYSTEM 7/01/93
Ver 1.
Current Population Survey/National Sample
Case status is: New case
Date is: July 18, 1994 Time is: 10:30 a.m.
MONTH IN SAMPLE: 1
<T> Telephone Interview
<P> Personal interview (See notes)
<S> Personal (skip all notes and go to introb)
<Q> Quit: Do not attempt now.
<1> Ready to transmit case no more followup
===>_
"The Case status is:" field will contain one of the following:
New case This is the 1st time you have called up this case this month. Unreached case You called up the case before but did not reach the household. Household reached You contacted the household, but did not complete any of the labor force interview. Household refusal You contacted the household and they refused to be interviewed. Need LBFR + Suppl You contacted the household and collected demographics, but no labor force or supplement information. Need LBFR only You collected demographics, but no labor force information. (Non- supplement months) Need Suppl only You completed the demographics and labor force portions of the instrument. Fully complete You completed the interview on your previous contact.
If the "Date is:" field, in the center of the screen, is prior to Sunday of interview week, check that the date on your computer is set correctly before beginning your work assignment.
There will be cases where you get through the demographics and part of the labor force and have to F10 out of the interview. In these cases the instrument will set the outcome code to 204 for the case. If you return to the interview at a later time and the respondent refuses, you can not select NONINTERVIEW since the case was already partially interviewed. For that reason, the NONINTERVIEW category is not on the intro-b screen the second time you enter an interview under these circumstances. In this case you would select <1> Ready to Transmit at this screen.
Next is the previous history records screen, which shows case activity for this month. Followed by the SHOSTAT screen which gives the outcomes of the case for its previous months-in-sample. The next screens, SHOROS-1 and SHOROS-3, display the household composition and any previous notes. (Shoros-3 is shown in Figure C7.)
>Shoros3<
NOTES FROM INTERVIEWER DURING PREVIOUS MONTHS INTERVIEWS
BEST TIME TO CALL:
OTHER NOTES:_____________________
ENTER <P> TO PROCEED
===>_
If all household members spoke only Spanish the previous month, the SHOROS-3 screen will read "Last month, only Spanish was spoken by all members of the household."
Secondary and vacation phone numbers are also displayed on the SHOROS-3 screen.
Next you explain why you are contacting the household and ask to speak to last month's respondent or obtain a new one. If the respondent agrees to the interview, you ask a series of questions to establish whether or not this is the first interview for the household. You then check to see if you are at the address listed.
If you are not at the correct address, recheck your listing sheet. If you are unable to locate the address listed notify your Regional Office supervisor. (See your Listing Manual for instructions on addresses you are unable to find.) Once you reach the correct household determine the residency status of the unit.
Next you confirm that you have reached a private residence. You may find it necessary to restate your name and who you represent. In addition, you will need to read the description of the survey.
In address and permit segments in MIS-1 cases a check will appear on the GENINTRO screen (Figure C8) asking if you have verified the listing. If you verified the listing, continue on to introb, Figure C9.
If you did not verify the listing, the ILV screen will appear so you can update or verify the listing.
Do not confuse code <2> "reluctant respondent," on the INTROB screen with the "refused" option on the TYPEA screen. If you are planning to followup and attempt to convert the respondent select code <2>. If the case is definitely a noninterview this month select code <3>.
This is the time to explain the purpose and importance of this survey to the respondent (As described in Part A, Chapter 1). Use the information available to help you obtain a complete interview.
>genintro< ** DO NOT READ AS WORDED BELOW **
o Identify yourself if personal, show I.D.
o (Ask to speak to: name/Ask for eligible respondent)
If unavailable use SHIFTF1 for HH roster
o (This is a first month interview)
o Introduce survey adjust introduction to last month's
status and respondent
o If new HH give introductory letter and allow time to read.
o The Household address is: (address)
o Have you verified your listing?
<P> TO PROCEED
===>_
>introb<
(IS RESPONDENT READY TO COMPLETE THE INTERVIEW?)
<1> Inconvenient time. Callback needed.
<2> Reluctant Respondent-hold for refusal followup
<3> NONINTERVIEW
<0> Other outcome OR problem interviewing respondent.
<W> Wrong address (wrong case selected)
ENTER <P> TO PROCEED WITH THE INTERVIEW
===>_
After your introduction and verification of the listing you begin the interview by verifying the exact address (if appropriate, see the back of the Address Listing Sheet for instructions).
"What is your exact address?"
Make any additions or changes necessary to the address shown on the screen. Include a unit description and ZIP code to make the address complete. If the exact address is identical to the answer you receive for item for mailing address enter "Same" for the mailing address.
You ask address and mailing address in all 1st and 5th month and replacement households.
You may find a descriptive address such as "White house with green shutters, etc...", DO NOT overwrite or delete this entry. In these cases, the respondent will most likely respond to your address verification by giving you the mailing address, such as box number, route number, or house number and street name. These may not have been visible at the time of listing. Enter the information in the mailing address screen.
If you have difficulty locating the sample unit's address, refer to the address on the listing sheet, as well as addresses on adjacent lines. In some cases you may find that the address was incorrectly transcribed from the listing sheet.
Make any address corrections on the listing sheets. For instructions on how to correct addresses on the Area Segment Listing Sheet or the Address Listing Sheet, refer to your listing manual.
An adequate mailing address includes:
In rural areas, an adequate mailing address may also include route no. (box no., if any) and name of post office.
General delivery or lock box no. and P.O. city, state, and ZIP code are also acceptable mailing addresses.
You will determine Year Built in the 1st month's interview in permit issuing areas (including area segments in permit issuing areas). You need to answer year built for both vacant and occupied units, however the instrument will skip it for mobile homes.
If the sample unit was built before April 1, 1980, or if you are uncertain about whether it was built before this date, choose "Before". If you estimate YEAR BUILT, enter a note and interview the unit as usual.
If the unit was built after April 1, 1980, treat it as a Type C noninterview. We take units built after this date from the permit sampling frame.
Do not fill column 8 (YEAR BUILT) of the Area Segment Listing Sheet when you determine YEAR BUILT at time of interview. Also, do not cross off the Area Segment Listing Sheet, units you find at time of interview that were built after April 1, 1980.
If you need to determine YEAR BUILT for a Type A or B noninterview ask a neighbor or other knowledgeable person. See chapter 5 for a discussion of noninterviews.
The regional office pre-determines which coverage questions you will ask for each household. You ask these questions during the 1st and 5th month interviews for regular units in area segments. You do not ask coverage questions in address, permit and special place segments.
You will need to fill Table X to record information to help determine whether the reported living quarters is a part of the unit being interviewed or is occupied or intended for occupancy as separate living quarters and should be interviewed.
>Tablex<
Complete TABLE X in the job aid manual to determine if an extra unit exists. Then continue with this interview.
ENTER <P> TO PROCEED
===>_
See your Listing Manual for detailed instructions on how to deal with EXTRA units and Replacement Households.
If a regular unit in an area segment is a Type B or C noninterview in the 1st or 5th month, obtain the information from a neighbor or other knowledgeable person. For example, in asking a nextdoor neighbor for a vacant unit, you might say one or more of the following:
"Are there living quarters for more than one group of people in that vacant house next door?"
"Are there living quarters for more than one group of people on the second floor of the (that) house?"
"Is there any other building on the property next door for people to live in, either occupied or vacant?"
You enter information about the respondent for Type B and C noninterviews in the BCINFO screen. The information is made available the following month on returning cases. Place any additional information you might need in the i-notes. Refer to Part Chapter 6 for more information on noninterviews.
These coverage questions and check items that come up at the beginning of the interview are included to help you get started. For example, you have to enter whether this is a personal visit or a telephone interview. First and fifth
month interviews are required to be personal visits. As a reminder, your case management main display shows whether each case should be a personal visit or a telephone interview.
If you answer "telephone interview" to this question for a first or fifth month case, the computer will remind you that you need to conduct a personal visit interview.
A first or fifth month interview can be done by telephone only as a last resort. The computer asks you if this is a last resort. If you answer "no," the instrument skips to the I-notes screen to exit the case.
To begin again, you must go back to case management and re-select the case. If you answer "yes," you can go on with the interview, but the instrument will mark its answer file to indicate that you obtained the information from a "last resort" interview.
CASE STATUS Displays the current status of the case, such as "new
case".
SPEC STATUS Tells if there is anything special about the case, such
as "call telephone business office".
CITY Displays the city and state you are calling.
APPOINTMENT STATUS Shows if you have an appointment to continue the
interview
APPOINTMENT TIME Displays the time of the appointment.
ADDRESS Displays the household's street address.
MAILING ADDRESS Displays the household's mailing address, if different
from their street address.
CURRENT DATE Displays the current date.
RESPONDENT TIME Shows the current time at the respondents number.
CUTOFF DATE Shows the last day you can interview the case this
month.
MONTH IN SAMPLE Shows the current month in sample for the case.
NOTES FROM LAST Contains any notes about the appointment that may be
INTERVIEW helpful, including the best time to call.
HOUSEHOLD Lists all the persons living or staying in the
COMPOSITION household.
GENINTRO SCREEN Displays the following:
last month's respondent
how to get to the household composition screen if the
respondent is not
available
if the household was in CATI last month
a reminder to introduce the survey
a reminder to give a respondent letter to the
respondent if it is a new
household
NOTE: Status, appointment information, notes and the roster will be blank for new cases.
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