Despite the many practical uses of data collected through the American Community Survey (ACS), many respondents and members of the public are actively opposed to completing the survey. This resistance to the ACS presents challenges for conducting the survey and eliciting responses -€” particularly early self- responses - causing the Census Bureau to incur significant extra expense.

To help to overcome these challenges, Team Reingold conducted Deliberative Focus Groups in seven cities across the country — Albuquerque, Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, Richmond, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. — with individuals who were identified to have cynical, suspicious, or ambivalent attitudes toward the federal government. The design of these focus groups, modeled after a courtroom trial with a jury, compelled individuals who were inclined to distrust the government to nevertheless find the best arguments in support of the ACS.

Our goal was to understand what messages or arguments could help motivate such individuals to self-respond to the survey, and to gather their perspectives on the strongest arguments for and against the value of the ACS generally.