Qualitative Interviewing with Suspected Duplicates and Cognitive Testing of the Targeted Coverage Follow-up (TCFU) Interview

Written by:
SSM2013-09

Executive Summary

The objective of this study was twofold: (1) to gain in-depth understanding of the living situations in which individuals were more likely to be duplicated, and (2) to test issues related to comprehension, privacy, and confidentiality, and assess the exhaustiveness of the TCFU questions for covering various living situations prone to duplication. Since Census 2000, computer matching has been employed to identify potential duplicates. The Coverage Follow-up Interview (CFU) has been used to follow-up suspected duplicates to resolve where they should be counted. In an attempt to improve the Coverage Follow-Up, in 2009 , the Census Bureau developed a new set of follow-up questions — the Targeted Coverage Follow-Up questionnaire. The new questionnaire involved naming and asking questions of each individual duplicate in the household and targeted questions were asked of individuals associated with Group Quarters. The Targeted Coverage Follow-Up questionnaire was cognitively tested and revised, and in 2010 the Census Bureau set out to conduct a larger scale qualitative study. Two sub-studies, a cognitive and a qualitative study, were launched simultaneously to address the outlined objectives.

Page Last Revised - October 8, 2021