Once, Only Once, and In the Right Place: Gathering Location Data for the 2020 Census Jennifer Hunter Childs Center for Survey Measurement Research and Methodology Directorate U.S. Census Bureau 1

Overview 2020 Census requirements and plans GPS from mobile: opinion data Future directions 2

How have we gathered location data? Canvassed THE WHOLE COUNTRY Only (mostly) accepted forms that were preprinted with a census ID Less than 1% of responses came from a form without an ID 3

How would we like to gather location data? In 2020, internet response is likely to increase the proportion of cases without an ID. As a result, we are considering: –Using location-based services via mobile devices –Asking respondents to confirm/correct their location on a map integrated with the internet questionnaire. 4

GATHERING LOCATION DATA VIA MOBILE DEVICES: OPINION DATA 5

2013 National Census Contact Test Opportunity to ask about collection of respondent location information. Evolution of the “GPS Question” –Initial wording qualitative testing –Final wording for the interview instrument 6

Qualitative Testing: Version 1 In order to count people in the right place, the Census Bureau needs detailed geographic information. To assist in our efforts to increase the accuracy of the census and potentially save a lot of taxpayers’ money, we could get some of your geographic information from cellphone providers. Would you be willing to allow the Census Bureau to obtain geographic information from your cellular provider? 7

“That makes me very uncomfortable, especially with the recent changes with Facebook and Google privacy policy. I don’t use Google maps because then they are able to get my location, I don’t like the idea that they know where I am. I assume that you would ask my provider to look at the towers that get pinged most frequently or which tower was used when I was on the phone with Census or when I was filling out the form. This is creepy. The government knows my social security number and that is OK, but they do not need to know where I am at all times.” 8 Version 1: Findings

“Yes. Of course, there is so much sharing already and this is critical data.” When I ask her what she thinks is meant by “geographic information,” she replies that it is “where I live, where my phone is registered, my billing address, you can glean a lot of information from this. Of course I do not want you to know where I am at all times, but that information is OK. ” 9

Qualitative Testing: Version 2 In order to count people in the right place in the census, the Census Bureau must collect detailed geographic information. This information can be time-consuming for respondents to provide and it can be expensive for the census to process. To assist in our efforts to increase the accuracy of the census and save a lot of taxpayer’s money, we could use cell phone or tablet technology, such as GPS, to determine your location more easily and accurately. If during the completion of your 2020 Census questionnaire we asked to use this technology to obtain geographic information directly from your mobile device, would you allow it?

Version 2: Findings Many participants misunderstood and thought that Census wanted to “track” their location. Those who agreed did so because it was easier, quicker, more accurate or because they felt they had nothing to hide. Many who did not agree were quite vehement in refusal – did not want to be “tracked” by the government. This version was ultimately used for the NCCT interviewing.

2013 NCCT Sample Selection January 2013 Initial sample of 50,000 housing units selected: –Housing units from Mailout areas of 50 states + D.C. Phone number validation reduced sample to ~42,500 cases with at least one associated phone number Further subsampled to 40,000 Advance letter one week prior CATI-only survey 26% completion rate 12

Would you let the Census Bureau access your location data? 13

Allow Location Data by Age 14

Allowing Location Data by Race 15

Prototype of Geolocator

Mobile Request for Location Data 18

Ongoing Research Describe more clearly how location information will be used: used to capture current location only (explicitly not track) Experiment with actually asking if we can collect their coordinates in a field study. More experimentation with self-reported addresses and self-geocoding. 19

To Be Continued… 20