Current Population Survey Design and Methodology - Census Bureau

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Figure 5–1. Questions for Employed and Unemployed 1. Does anyone in this household have a business or a farm? 2. LAST WEEK, did you do ANY work for (either) pay (or profit)? Parenthetical filled in if there is a business or farm in the household. If 1 is ‘‘yes’’ and 2 is ‘‘no,’’ ask 3. If 1 is ‘‘no’’ and 2 is ‘‘no,’’ ask 4. 3. LAST WEEK, did you do any unpaid work in the family business or farm? If 2 and 3 are both ‘‘no,’’ ask 4. 4. LAST WEEK, (in addition to the business) did you have a job, either full-or part-time? Include any job from which you were temporarily absent. Parenthetical filled in if there is a business or farm in the household. If 4 is ‘‘no,’’ ask 5. 5. LAST WEEK, were you on layoff from a job? If 5 is ‘‘yes,’’ ask 6. If 5 is ‘‘no,’’ ask 8. 6. Has your employer given you a date to return to work? If ‘‘no,’’ ask 7. 7. Have you been given any indication that you will be recalled to work within the next 6 months? If ‘‘no,’’ ask 8. 8. Have you been doing anything to find work during the last 4 weeks? If ‘‘yes,’’ ask 9. 9. What are all of the things you have done to find work during the last 4 weeks? Individuals are classified as employed if they say ‘‘yes’’ to questions 2, 3 (and work 15 hours or more in the reference week or receive profits from the business/farm), or 4. Individuals who are available to work are classified as unemployed if they say ‘‘yes’’ to 5 and either 6 or 7, or if they say ‘‘yes’’ to 8 and provide a job search method that could have brought them into contact with a potential employer in 9. REFERENCES U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau (1992), Alphabetical Index of Industries and Occupations, from . U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS Handbook of Methods, from . 5–6 Questionnaire Concepts and Definitions for the Current Population Survey Current Population Survey TP66 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and U.S. Census Bureau
Chapter 6. Design of the Current Population Survey Instrument INTRODUCTION Chapter 5 describes the current concepts and definitions underpinning the Current Population Survey (CPS) data collection instrument. The current survey instrument is the result of an 8-year research and development effort to redesign the data collection process and to implement previously recommended changes in the underlying labor force concepts. The changes described here were introduced in January 1994. For virtually every labor force concept, the current questionnaire wording is different from what was used previously. Data collection was redesigned so that the instrument is fully automated and is administered either on a laptop computer or from a centralized telephone facility. This chapter describes the work on the data collection instrument and changes that were made as a result of that work. MOTIVATION FOR REDESIGNING THE QUESTIONNAIRE COLLECTING LABOR FORCE DATA The CPS produces some of the most important data used to develop economic and social policy in the United States. Although the U.S. economy and society have undergone major shifts in recent decades, the survey questionnaire remained unchanged from 1967 to 1994. The growth in the number of service-sector jobs and the decline in the number of factory jobs were two key developments. Other changes include the more prominent role of women in the workforce and the growing popularity of alternative work schedules. The 1994 revisions were designed to accommodate these changes. At the same time, the redesign took advantage of major advances in survey research methods and data collection technology. Recommendations for changes in the CPS had been proposed in the late 1970s and 1980s, primarily by the Presidentiallyappointed National Commission on Employment and Unemployment Statistics (commonly referred to as the Levitan Commission). No changes were implemented at that time, however, due to the lack of funding for a large overlap sample necessary to assess the effect of the redesign. In the mid-1980s, funding for an overlap sample became available. Spurred by all of these developments, the decision was made to redesign the CPS questionnaire. OBJECTIVES OF THE REDESIGN There were five main objectives in redesigning the CPS questionnaire: (1) to better operationalize existing definitions and reduce reliance on volunteered responses; (2) to Current Population Survey TP66 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and U.S. Census Bureau reduce the potential for response error in the questionnaire-respondent-interviewer interaction and, hence, improve measurement of CPS concepts; (3) to implement minor definitional changes within the labor force classifications; (4) to expand the labor force data available and improve longitudinal measures; and (5) to exploit the capabilities of computer-assisted interviewing for improving data quality and reducing respondent burden (see Copeland and Rothgeb (1990) for a fuller discussion). Enhanced Accuracy In redesigning the CPS questionnaire, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and U.S. Census Bureau developed questions that would lessen the potential for response error. Among the approaches used were: (1) shorter, clearer question wording; (2) splitting complex questions into two or more separate questions; (3) building concept definitions into question wording; (4) reducing reliance on volunteered information; (5) explicit and implicit strategies for the respondent to provide numeric data on hours, earnings, etc.; and (6) the use of revised precoded response categories for open-ended questions (Copeland and Rothgeb, 1990). Definitional Changes The labor force definitions used in the CPS have undergone only minor modifications since the survey’s inception in 1940, and with only one exception, the definitional changes and refinements made in 1994 were small. The one major definitional change dealt with the concept of discouraged workers; that is, people outside the labor force who are not looking for work because they believe that there are no jobs available for them. As noted in Chapter 5, discouraged workers are similar to the unemployed in that they are not working and want a job. Since they are not conducting an active job search, however, they do not satisfy a key element necessary to be classified as unemployed. The former measurement of discouraged workers was criticized by the Levitan Commission as too arbitrary and subjective. It was deemed arbitrary because assumptions about a person’s availability for work were made from responses to a question on why the respondent was not currently looking for work. It was considered too subjective because the measurement was based on a person’s stated desire for a job regardless of whether the individual had ever looked for work. A new, more precise measurement of discouraged workers was Design of the Current Population Survey Instrument 6–1
Page 1 and 2: Design and Methodology Current Popu
Page 3 and 4: U.S. Department of Labor Elaine L.
Page 5 and 6: Foreword The Current Population Sur
Page 7 and 8: CONTENTS Chapter 9. Data Preparatio
Page 9 and 10: CONTENTS Figures 3-1 CPS Rotation C
Page 11 and 12: Chapter 1. Background The Current P
Page 13 and 14: Chapter 2. History of the Current P
Page 15 and 16: in small circles with an ordinary l
Page 17 and 18: was added as a control to the Hispa
Page 19 and 20: More detailed information on these
Page 21 and 22: social and economic characteristics
Page 23 and 24: d. Stratification is performed inde
Page 25 and 26: Calculation of overall state sampli
Page 27 and 28: use of census information to reduce
Page 29 and 30: Summary of Sampling Frames Table 3-
Page 31 and 32: Examples of Post-Sampling Code Assi
Page 33 and 34: 2. The sample for 1 month is compos
Page 35 and 36: Chapter 4. Preparation of the Sampl
Page 37 and 38: Even without geographic clustering,
Page 39 and 40: Permit listing. Listing in the perm
Page 41 and 42: Chapter 5. Questionnaire Concepts a
Page 43 and 44: Employed citizens of foreign countr
Page 45: ‘‘What are all of the things yo
Page 49 and 50: Item Response Analysis The primary
Page 51 and 52: Industry and occupation—Dependent
Page 53 and 54: months. For people reported to be l
Page 55 and 56: Oksenberg, L., C. Cannell, and G. K
Page 57 and 58: Figure 7−1. Introductory Letter 7
Page 59 and 60: Figure 7-3. Noninterviews: Main Ite
Page 61 and 62: Figure 7-5. Summary Table for Deter
Page 63 and 64: eason, the CATI facilities generall
Page 65 and 66: Figure 7-9. Interviewing Results (S
Page 67 and 68: transmitted directly to the compute
Page 69 and 70: Chapter 9. Data Preparation INTRODU
Page 71 and 72: Demographic-related recodes are cre
Page 73 and 74: sample unit (person or household) b
Page 75 and 76: still be associated with the state-
Page 77 and 78: Weights After National Coverage Adj
Page 79 and 80: Table 10−4: Second-Stage Adjustme
Page 81 and 82: Iteration 2: (Repeat steps above be
Page 83 and 84: 1. For each state 7 and the Distric
Page 85 and 86: Production of monthly, quarterly, a
Page 87 and 88: for national CPS labor force series
Page 89 and 90: Chapter 11. Current Population Surv
Page 91 and 92: Table 11-1. Current Population Surv
Page 93 and 94: have completed their eighth and fin
Page 95 and 96: Table 11−3. Summary of 2004 ASEC
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Current Population Survey TP66 U.S.
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Chapter 12. Data Products From the
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Table 12-1. Bureau of Labor Statist
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Chapter 13. Overview of Data Qualit
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For example, we now recognize that
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the other panel in the SR SECU or N
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means that the estimates of varianc
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Table 14-2. Components of Variance
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Table 14-4. Effect of Compositing o
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Wolter, K. (1984), ‘‘An Investi
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• Master Address File (MAF): The
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no RO review of group quarters list
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5. The questionnaire does not elici
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chance to answer; probing technique
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Chapter 16. Quality Indicators of N
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Figure 16−2. Average Yearly Type
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Table 16-3. Labor Force Status by I
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supposed to be done in person, the
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Figure 16−4. Basic CPS Household
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Appendix A Sample Preparation Mater
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Illustration 1. Segment Folder, BC-
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Illustration 3. Unit/Permit Listing
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Illustration 5. Unit/Permit Listing
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Illustration 7. Permit Sketch Map,
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group numbers are chosen for deleti
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demographic components often cited
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2. The CPS control universe exclude
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A concern exists relative to the co
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The resulting race categories (Whit
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treat race and Hispanic origin as a
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REFERENCES Ahmed, B. and J. G. Robi
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Figure D-1. Map D-2 Organization an
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This report provides the supervisor
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Appendix E. Reinterview: Design and
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Acronyms ADS Annual Demographic Sup
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Births—Con. total population C-4
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Estimates, population—Con. popula
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Listing checks 15-4 Listing Sheets
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Ratio adjustments—Con. second-sta
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Vacancy rates 11-2, 11-4 Variance e
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