1. Messages for Gaining Respondent Cooperation in Multiple Languages
Patricia Goerman, Mikelyn Meyers, and Yazmin Garcia Trejo, U.S. Census Bureau
Mandy Sha RTI International
Alisu Schoua Glusberg, RSS
Presented at the International Conference on Questionnaire Design,
Development, Evaluation, and Testing (QDET2)
Miami, FL: November 9-13, 2016

2. Introductory Survey Messages for use across Languages
Little literature about development of doorstep messages for use across languages
Decade-long qualitative research program at the U.S. Census Bureau using different methods
Goals of this paper:
State of the art findings on tailoring introductory survey messages for use in 7 languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Russian, Arabic
Discussion of qualitative methods used
Lay out next steps for further research

3. Outline of Talk Review of the literature
Field interview observation study
Expert review study
Focus group study
Summary and conclusions
Next steps

4. Literature Review: Interviewer Characteristics and Behavior
Studies of interviewer characteristics and behavior
(Couper 1997; Groves and Couper 1998; Groves et al 2004; Durrant and D’Arriago 2014)
Interviewer race and gender
Interviewers’ expertise and conversational skills
Socioeconomic disparities
Cross-cultural differences in survey administration

5. Literature Review: Introductory Messages
Communication style
Scripted v. unscripted introductory messages
Announced v. unannounced visits
Particular messages: eg. non-solicitation
Paradata on doorstep interaction to explain non-response
Little work on messages across languages/ cultural groups

6. Study 1: Field observation
2010 U.S. Census observation of 586 CAPI interviews
Observation of:
Interviewer messages and behaviors
Linguistic and cultural factors affecting survey administration and response
Debriefing of interviewers and respondents
Language
Interviews observed
Arabic 61
Chinese 23
Korean
Russian 67
Spanish 63
Vietnamese 75
English
278

7. Scripted doorstep introduction: 2010
S1. Hello, I’m (Name) from the U.S. Census Bureau (Show ID). Is this (Address)?
Yes – Continue with question S2
No – Ask: Can you tell me where to find (Address)?
END INTERVIEWER
S2. I’m here to complete a Census questionnaire for this address. It should take about 10 minutes. (Hand respondent an information Sheet.) The first part explains that your answers are confidential. I’ll refer to the other parts later. Did you or anyone in this household live or stay here on April 1, 2010?
Yes – Continue with question S3
No – Skip to question S4

8. Observation Findings
Example strategies for gaining respondent cooperation in various groups
Observation findings
Language
De-emphasize mandatory message
Arabic & Spanish
Emphasize mandatory message
Russian
Use of honorific or deferential terms
Arabic, Korean & Vietnamese
Appropriate attire
Emphasize that survey is short
Spanish
Initiating contact in target language
Various
Discuss benefits to respondents’ communities
Introduction from trusted community partners

9. Expert Review 2015 U.S. Census Bureau study
Review of draft doorstep messages in Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Russian and Arabic
Draft messages translated from English
Teams of 3 or more reviewers with language expertise, formal education in target language and cultural knowledge and experience with target population
Recommendations on how to best tailor the messages

10. Expert review recommendations
Language
Use interactive approach, Engage in conversation, Order of messages
Chinese
Order of messages, Seniority and politeness, Honorific markers
Korean
Abruptness, Use of appropriate pronouns based on age and sex of Resp. and Interviewer
Vietnamese
Interactive approach, Gender, Attire, Non-verbal behavior
Arabic
Politeness, Apologize in advance, Official ID needed, Emphasis on interviewer assisting respondent
Russian

11. 2 various national origins, 1 PR
Focus groups
Language
Number of focus groups
Arabic 2
Chinese
English
Korean
Russian
Vietnamese
Spanish
2 various national origins, 1 PR
Total 15
Videos of doorstep interactions
Respondent aware of the Census going on in area
Respondent did not know about the Census

12. Census messages tested in focus groups
Interviewer introducing self
Showing ID card
Explain Census test
Census takes place every 10 years
Confidentiality
Use of honorific markers, titles, pronouns

13. Focus Group Results across Languages
Importance of verifying interviewer identity
Some wanted more proof of identity, uniforms
Purpose and importance of Census
Desire for advance notification of visit
Confidentiality
Politeness
Mandatory message (good or bad, variation)

14. Focus Group Results: Language Specific
Focus groups findings
Language
Shared ethnicity interviewer and R, written materials, scheduling, emphasize no negative consequences
Spanish
Need for different order in messages: background before purpose of visit, politeness
Chinese
Forms of address, honorific markers, emphasize no negative consequences
Korean

15. Focus Group Results: Language Specific (cont.)
Focus groups findings
Language
Need planned intro statement, survey is short, how it will help Vietnamese community
Vietnamese
De-emphasize mandatory nature, offer to help, be careful about body language, looking in bag can be threatening
Russian
Gender matching of Interviewer/ respondent, be careful about causing embarrassment, regional dialect v. Modern Standard Arabic (MSA)
Arabic

16. Summary and Conclusions
Multi-method approach:
Field observation, Expert review, Focus groups
Three levels of feedback:
Interviewers, language experts, respondents
Messaging & increasing response: Help with tailoring, ordering and specific messages that might be most effective to increase response to the Census and other surveys among hard-to-reach populations

17. Next Steps
New project
Focus groups with new doorstep videos incorporating all required messages but tailored to different groups
Tailoring of order and specific messages, culturally appropriate customs, phrases, attire
Ultimate goal: to develop tailored training materials to support field interviewers

18. Messages for Gaining Respondent Cooperation in Multiple Languages
Patricia Goerman, Mikelyn Meyers, and Yazmin Garcia Trejo, U.S. Census Bureau
Mandy Sha RTI International
Alisu Schoua Glusberg, RSS
For more information:
Disclaimer:
This presentation is intended to inform people about research and to encourage discussion. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the U.S. Census Bureau.