Come to the IFD&TC registration table to check in and pick up your conference materials. Limited late conference check-in also available from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Monday morning.

Location: Chasm Creek B

Facilitator: Hillary Hanson, University of Chicago Survey Lab

Session Focus: Have a burning survey research question, or a great data collection story to share? We will kick off the conference with a general roundtable discussion open to all attendees.   This is a chance to seek advice from other survey researchers, or offer some of your own!  Join us to meet other attendees before the 6:00 p.m. reception.

Location: Wind Star

Facilitator: Kathleen Joyce Weldon, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, Cornell University

Session Focus:

The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at Cornell University is a non-profit archive holding the world’s largest collection of polling data, including over 23,000 datasets and iPOLL, a question-bank with results from over 700,000 U.S. polling questions dating back to 1935. Topics covered include politics, health, education, environment, gender, race relations, religion, work, the justice system, and many more.

This presentation will center on practical ways to put iPOLL to work for you in conducting highest-quality research. By the end of the workshop, you should be able to use the archive to find questions on your topic of interest, identify public opinion knowledge gaps, compare the effects of different question wordings, locate trend questions to update, and determine size of established sub-populations in order to better estimate survey length.

iPOLL and the data-set collection are available only to users at Roper Center Member Organizations, which include nearly 300 institutions. To determine if you have access to Roper resources before the workshop, please check the list of members on the Roper website.

If your organization is not yet a Roper Center member, this is an opportunity to see if membership might be a good resource for improving your shop’s questionnaire design methods.

IFD&TC Organizers past and present want to welcome you to the conference.

Please join us for a happy hour reception featuring light snacks, a cash bar, and an informal time to visit with old and new friends. Dinner on your own after the reception.

Continental breakfast served.

If you arrived late to the conference, you may check in before the first session Monday morning at the IFD&TC registration desk.

All attendees facilitating a session at the conference are asked to attend a half hour breakfast meeting to go over facilitator guidelines and answer questions. If you’ve been a facilitator before, please come share your experiences with newer facilitators. If this is your first time, join us to meet others, and learn more about how facilitating works at IFD&TC.

Lessons Learned from Studying Telephone Surveys –
Jolene Smyth, Director of the Bureau of Sociological Research at University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Invited Address

Location: Grand Mesa F

Facilitator: Kevin Ulrich, University of Chicago Survey Lab

In 2011, Dr. Smyth and her colleagues received an NSF grant to study telephone surveys. In this talk she will summarize what she has learned about interviewers, respondents, and questionnaires from multiple data collections over the last seven years and reflect on the place of telephone surveys in today’s survey environment.

Jolene Smyth
Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Director, Bureau of Sociological Research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Doctor Smyth teaches graduate-level courses on data collection methods and questionnaire design. Her research broadly focuses on survey measurement and non-response. She is co-author with Don Dillman and Leah Christian of “Internet, Phone, Mail, and Mixed-Mode Surveys: The Tailored Design Method” (2014). Her current projects focus on visual design of questionnaires, mixed-mode surveys, question wording, the design of within-household selection techniques in self-administered surveys, CATI questionnaire design, and interviewer/respondent interactions.

Refreshments served.

Location: Chasm Creek B

Facilitator: Kevin Ulrich, University of Chicago Survey Lab

Session Focus: Following the keynote, join Jolene Smyth at this roundtable discussion about interviewers and the challenges and benefits associated with transitioning surveys between interviewer- and self-administered modes. An increasing number of surveys are transitioning from telephone to combinations of multiple modes for both recruitment and survey administration. In the resulting designs, telephone may be only one of a number of modes used. This necessitates some hard thinking, research, and trial and error experiences to identify the strengths and weaknesses of using interviewers and how, if at all, we can achieve results with self-administered or mixed-modes similar to those that we did with interviewers. This session will give participants the opportunity to ask follow-up questions from the keynote and to discuss interviewers and surveyors’ experiences moving from interviewer-administered to self-administered or mixed-mode surveys, including sharing knowledge gained on the ground from such transitions.

Location: Grand Mesa F

Facilitator: Carol Wintheiser, University of Wisconsin Survey Center

Session Focus: This session will explore approaches to quality control to improve interviewer performance and detect falsification.  Presentations will cover both qualitative and quantitative approaches to working with quality control data.

Presentations:
• Developing a Quality Control Protocol for Evaluation of Recorded Interviews – Lisa Holland, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC); Margaret Hudson, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC)
• Effective Methods for Detecting Field Interviewer Falsification – Katelan McDaniel, RTI International
• Putting Data Quality Metrics to Work – Alanah Raykovich, NORC at the University of Chicago
• On A Scale of 1 to 3: Qualitative and Quantitative Documentation of Field Staff Performance on a Project – Andrea Sims, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC)

Location: Chasm Creek A

Facilitator: Kelly Elver, University of Wisconsin Survey Center; Chris Schlapper, University of Wisconsin Survey Center

Session Focus: Is this your first time at IFD&TC or a professional conference?  Join our conference registrar and our conference website programmer for a roundtable discussion on how to present at and attend the conference like you’ve been doing it for years.  

Location: Grand Mesa E

Facilitator: David Northrup, York University – Institute for Social Research

Session Focus: Insights into how smaller shops deal with changes in survey methods, maintain research expertise and cope with changing volumes of work and resulting budget fluctuations have often been part of the conversation, discussion and debate at the Small Shops session at the IFD&TC.  This Small Shops Panel is the first of two sessions aimed at small and medium sized shops in the 2018 conference.  As in past conferences, the Small Shops Panel is designed to facilitate networking, sharing of ideas, and adapting to change to insure that your shop prospers.  To start the conversation, a panel member will outline briefly their Center’s challenges and experiences on one of three topics that will be of interest to all survey centers.  Kelleigh Trepanier, from the Burruss Institute at Kennesaw State University will start the Panel by addressing issues of Financial and Sustainability Issues at Small Shops.  Jody Fox (Center for Survey Statistics and Methodology at Iowa State) will start a conversation on the struggle to deal with Staffing and Related Issues when Volumes of Work at Small Shops are in a constant state of flux.  Mark Miazga of the University of Minnesota’s Office of Measurement Services will review recent efforts at his shop on Marketing and Changing Services Provided by a Smaller Institute.

Panelists:
• David Northrup, York University – Institute for Social Research
• Kelleigh Trepanier, A.L. Burruss Institute – Kennesaw State University
• Jody Fox, Iowa State University – CSSM
• Mark Miazga, University of Minnesota

Location: Grand Mesa D

Facilitator: Andrew Piskorowski, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC)

Session Focus: Survey software is complex and broad in scope. Presenters in this session will cover how they have developed or implemented survey applications at their shop

Presentations:
• Introducing Statistics Canada’s Integrated Collection and Operations System – Réjean Doiron, Statistics Canada
• Decentralized CATI: Using Field Interviewer Expertise to Conduct a Longitudinal Study by Phone – Lauren Seward, NORC at the University of Chicago; Jessica Maleryn, NORC at the University of Chicago; Jennifer Draude, NORC at the University of Chicago; Lili Perez, NORC at the University of Chicago; Kymn Kochanek, NORC at the University of Chicago
• queXS 2.0: Adding CATI to Your Web Survey – Adam Zammit, Australian Consortium for Social and Political Research, Inc
• Complex Use of Voxco, Commercial-off-the-Shelf Software, for Data Collection – Nathan Sikes, RTI International

Location: Grand Mesa C

Facilitator: Brian Harnisch, Wyoming Survey and Analysis Center

Session Focus: These presentations cover the respondents’ experience of a survey instrument, including ensuring that the questionnaire is accessible to those with a disability and and managing users’ expectations of how a survey should work.

Presentations:
• Section 508 – Old vs. New: Overview of Section 508 Refresh – Sandhya Bikmal, RTI International
• User Experience (UX) Design – Building the next Generation of User Centric Collection Tools – Sarah MacKinnon, Statistics Canada
• Auto Advance in Web Surveys: We Have Some ‘Splainin’ to Do! – Kevin Tharp, Indiana University Center for Survey Research

Bring your RDD lunch ticket and join us for lunch.

Attendees are seated at tables according to the number drawn on their lunch tickets at check in. RDD lunch is a fun way to meet and get to know other attendees!

Location: Grand Mesa A

Facilitator: Kyle Fennell, NORC at the University of Chicago

Session Focus: This session will explore challenges of collecting non-survey data, including interviewer training and standardization, as well as implementation and analysis. Come learn about a variety of ancillary data collection efforts and how different organizations approached them.

Presentations:
• Measuring Living Space Through the Use of Laser Tape Measurement Devices on Household Surveys – Juan Carlos Donoso, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC); Hongyu Johnson, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC)
• Utilizing EMA with an Older Population – Lekha Venkataraman, NORC at the University of Chicago
• A Novel Approach for Conveniently and Securely Collecting Personal Health Data – Lew Berman, ICF
• Don’t Say “Blood”! Using Lay Interviewers to Collect Red Drops from Young Children – Barbara Lohr Ward and Veronica Connors-Burge, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC)
• Sleep and Activity in People Over the Age of 50: Recruitment and Procedures for a Pilot Field Study – Hillary Hanson, University of Chicago Survey Lab; Nicoletta Knoble, University of Chicago Survey Lab

Location: Grand Mesa B

Facilitator: Kelleigh Trepanier, A.L. Burruss Institute – Kennesaw State University

Session Focus: The presentations in this session will examine current trends in budgeting, as well as center and project management, for shops of any nearly any size.

Presentations:
• Design, Uses, and Benefits of an In-House-Developed Business Operations Software System – Chris Schlapper, University of Wisconsin Survey Center
• Building Usable Budget Spreadsheets – Tim Lensing, Washington State University – Social and Economic Sciences Research Center
• Creating a Unified Survey Experience Through Governance – Shelly Wymer, University of Minnesota

Location: Chasm Creek A

Facilitator: Casey Seay, University of Nebraska, Lincoln – Bureau of Sociological Research

Session Focus: Join us for a discussion about bringing diverse backgrounds and varying educational paths to the survey research world.  This roundtable will bring together people in the survey research field (beginner to advanced) to ask questions, share experiences, and provide advice.

Location: Grand Mesa C

Facilitator: Tim Flanigan, RTI International

Session Focus: This panel of RTI International attendees will focus on establishment recruitment, web design, adaptive sampling, and a unique case management system for a challenging study.

Panelists:
• Cynthia Bland, RTI International
• Milton Cahoon, RTI International
• Timothy Flanigan, RTI International
• Stephanie Dombek, RTI International

Location: Grand Mesa E

Facilitator: Chris Benson, NORC at the University of Chicago

Session Focus: Come and learn from an expert panel about a range of survey authoring tools out there and whether they can do what you want them to do. Tools covered include Voxco, Blaise, CASES, Limesurvey, ConfirmIT, Qualtrics and Sawtooth.

Panelists:
• Chris Benson, NORC at the University of Chicago
• Gina-Qian Cheung, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC)
• Eric White, University of Wisconsin Survey Center
• Adam Zammit, Australian Consortium for Social and Political Research, Inc
• Ryan Bendo, RAND Survey Research Group
• Tim Sanders, American Society for Radiation Oncology

Location: Grand Mesa D

Facilitator: Kurt Johnson, RTI International

Session Focus: These presentations discuss the technology and systems used for paper to digital conversions and data synchronization.

Presentations:
• Optimizing Sample Management System Functionality to Improve Workflow and Productivity on a Multi-Mode, Multi-Device Field Study – Pam Swanson, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC); Heidi Guyer, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC)
• Moving from Paper to Digital Capture – Challenges and Opportunities – Stuart Baynham, Office for National Statistics, United Kingdom
• A Decade of DocMan – The Evolution of a Paperless System for CAPI Studies – Orin Day, RTI International

Refreshments served.

Location: Grand Mesa A

Facilitator: John Baker II, U.S. Census Bureau

Session Focus: High quality data is crucial to any project or organization. This session of presentations will explore impacts on data quality including incentive effects and literacy. It will also examine innovations in quality control systems and data checks.

Presentations:
• Incentive Effects on Nonresponse and Data Quality – Lindsey Witt-Swanson, University of Nebraska, Lincoln – Bureau of Sociological Research
• Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics Survey: A Story of Data Quality Follow-up – Dain Palmer, RTI International
• An Experiment with Voice Recognition to Improve Call Center Quality – Lew Berman, ICF
• Impact of Literacy Skills on Survey Data Quality: Findings from NASIS 2017 – Shanshan Deng, University of Nebraska, Lincoln – Bureau of Sociological Research

Location: Grand Mesa B

Facilitator: Christy Storey, A.L. Burruss Institute – Kennesaw State University

Session Focus: This session of presentations will explore current trends and innovations in incentives for web surveys, including incentive reminders and e-payments. Learn more about the effects of incentive timing, the impact of online payment services, and alternate-mode mentions.

Presentations:
• E-Payments: The Impact of PayPal and QuickPay in a Longitudinal Study – Lauren Seward, NORC at the University of Chicago; Jennifer Draude, NORC at the University of Chicago; Adriana Ramirez-Islas, NORC at the University of Chicago; Kymn Kochanek, NORC at the University of Chicago
• Using Time-Sensitive Incentive Reminders in an Online Survey: Experiment Results – Mark Miazga, University of Minnesota
• Push To Web: Examining the Effects of Incentive Timing and Alternate-Mode Mentions on a Standard Four-Sequence Survey Mailing – Brian Harnisch, Wyoming Survey and Analysis Center; Mike Dorssom, Wyoming Survey and Analysis Center

Location: Chasm Creek A

Facilitator: Kelly Elver, University of Wisconsin Survey Center

Session Focus: Join us to discuss approaches to survey review and questionnaire design.

Location: Grand Mesa C

Facilitator: Nick Schultz, University of Wisconsin Survey Center

Session Focus: This session of presentations will cover an automated process for case assignment to field interviewers, as well as the impacts of interviewer characteristics including personality traits and gender in both telephone and in-person studies.

Presentations:
• Increasing Efficiency and Accuracy in Large-Scale Sample Assignment to Interviewers – Sarah Crane, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC)
• Impacts of Interviewers’ Personal Characteristics and Team Composition on a Household Survey: An Empirical Analysis Based on a China Household Finance Survey – Qing He, Survey and Research Center for China Household Finance, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics; Tengjiao Liao, Survey and Research Center for China Household Finance, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics
• Gender Effects Over the Airwaves – Nathan Palmer, Washington State University – Social and Economic Sciences Research Center

Location: Grand Mesa D

Facilitator: Randall Eckhoff, RTI International; Paul Kizakevich, RTI International; Robert Furberg, RTI International

Session Focus: Learn about the details of integrating wearable sensors in your survey data collection project, based on two studies currently in the field in this Focused Tech session by Randy Eckoff from RTI.

Location: Grand Mesa E

Facilitator: Chris Corey, RAND Survey Research Group

Session Focus: Sample and survey data are rarely ready for use without being cleaned. These presentations discuss various techniques for keeping it clean!

Presentations:
• Dusting off the Frame: An Open-Source Computing Approach to High Quality Frame Cleaning – Chris Griggs, RTI International
• Ensuring Data Integrity on a Budget: Using Macros to Efficiently Check and Edit Data – Monica Polino Schneider, Decision Information Resources, Inc; Heather Morrison, Decision Information Resources, Inc
• Multistep Daily Sample Management and Data Cleaning: Using Python to Solve Complex Survey Challenges – Joseph Nofziger, RTI International

Everyone is encouraged to attend the IFD&TC Business Meeting. Even if this is your first year attending the conference, your participation is welcome.

The Business Meeting is where we discuss the future of the IFD&TC conference, elect new organizers, and learn about the location of future conferences.

Continental breakfast served

Thoughts, Ruminations, and Twitter-Ready Soundbites on Data Science, Big Data, and Social Science Research –
Craig Hill, Senior Vice President, Survey, Computing, and Statistical Sciences, RTI International
Invited Address

Location: Grand Mesa F

Facilitator: Orin Day, RTI International

Using “Big Data” and data science tools, techniques, and approaches to produce (or predict) estimates is often viewed as a threat to the livelihood of statisticians and survey researchers. Often, these “new” tools or approaches are viewed with suspicion, or as being rife with error.

In this talk, Dr. Hill reviews what we know about big data and data science, examines several of the myths and buzzwords being promulgated about big data and data science, and provides several use cases for the audience’s consideration. He will start with definitions of “big data” and “data science” and then begin to unpack these definitions. For example, he’ll delve into the catchphrase, “data is new oil.” What does that mean, exactly? What are the implications for statisticians, survey researchers, and others in our industry?

Finally, Dr. Hill will present several scenarios (use cases) in which researchers have used data science-based approaches to social problems or issues for which we might have used a survey research-based approach in the past.

Craig A. Hill
Senior Vice President, Survey, Computing, and Statistical Sciences

Craig A. Hill, PhD, has more than 30 years of experience in social science research, directing research projects both large and small for a wide variety of federal, academic, and commercial clients.  In addition, Dr. Hill has published and presented papers related to social science methods, including topics as diverse as hospital ranking methodology, interviewer fraud, new technology for social science research, and social media in survey research. In his current role, he sets vision and strategy for the Survey, Computing, and Statistical Sciences Unit, a $150 million business unit that designs and implements projects using a variety of technological, analytical, and methodological approaches. The majority of the unit’s business derives from survey-related projects in which primary data collection (through telephone and in-person interviews, medical record abstraction, clinical report forms, and self-administered paper and web questionnaires) is a main component. The fastest-growing component is the Center for Data Science, which brings new techniques, tools, and approaches to the social sciences.

Refreshments served.

Location: Grand Mesa F

Facilitator: Jeanette Ziegenfuss, HealthPartners Institute

Session Focus: Those that work in survey research are all too familiar with the fact that response rates have been in decline over the past few years. The problem is not dependent upon the size of the shop, nor the mode or survey content. These presentations cover a wide variety of innovative solutions to help the decline in response.

Presentations:
• Using Prenotification Letters to Collect Email Addresses in an Establishment Survey – Joshua Langeland, Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Addressing Tracking & Response Rate Challenges in a Farmland Owner Longitudinal Study – Janice Larson, Iowa State University – CSSM; Allison Anderson, Iowa State University – CSSM
• Exploring Reasons for Participation and Non-Participation in Establishment Surveys – Robin Kaplan, Bureau of Labor Statistics; Jennifer Edgar, Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Does Sponsorship Matter? Lessons Learned from Leveraging a Federal Sponsor in Email Communications. – Jeff Franklin, RTI International
• Calls from Ivory Towers: Partisan Participation Disparities in University-Sponsored Surveys – Tracy Keirns, University of New Hampshire

Location: Grand Mesa C

Facilitator: Ella Kemp, NORC at the University of Chicago

Session Focus: Skilled interviewers are crucial for a project’s success. While much has been discussed about training methods and ways to keep interviewers engaged, innovative methods are always welcomed. It is true that interviewers encounter a variety of different situations each day and leveraging technology to aid in these circumstances is long overdue. Current and innovative trends in interviewer training and retention are discussed in these presentations.

Presentations:
• Using E-learning Software Platforms to Create Interactive Remote Training Content – Shena Patel, NORC at the University of Chicago
• “Focused Incubation Team” Concept and Its Influence on Production, Quality and Retention – Elena Derzhavina, RTI International; Dakisha Locklear, RTI International
• Enhancing Interview Training Using eLearning Module and Mobile Training Game – Nelson Er, U.S. Census Bureau
• Getting the Team Ready: Training and Certifying Interviewers For A Survey of People with Disabilities – Ryan Callahan, Mathematica Policy Research

Location: Chasm Creek A

Facilitator: David Northrup, York University – Institute for Social Research

Session Focus: Come share your experiences with colleagues regarding challenges that you have solved, challenges where you are weighing possible solutions and looking for advice, and challenges that look daunting and you are not sure where to start.  This session is an opportunity for shops to talk about problems they face and to consider solutions implemented in other organizations that have similar constraints in terms of size, dollars, and a regulatory framework largely dictated by a larger organization like a university, NGO, or government institution.  While the topics covered will mostly depend on audience interest, unfinished conversations from the Monday Small Shops Panel will also be entertained.  As in past conferences, the roundtable format is designed to facilitate networking, sharing of ideas, and adapting to insure that your small shop prospers.   Recently, IFD&TC organizers helped form a “Small Shops Engagement Work Group” and members of that committee have spent time reviewing small shops issues and, as appropriate, they will facilitate the conversation.

Location: Grand Mesa B

Facilitator: Beverly Weidmer, RAND Survey Research Group

Session Focus: Presentations will be focused on working with and outcomes from diverse populations or population-specific samples.

Presentations:
• Challenges Implementing a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Intervention with First-Time DUI Offenders in Southern California – Rick Garvey, RAND Survey Research Group; Keisha McDonald, RAND Survey Research Group
• Conducting an Intercept Survey in Bars, Community Centers and Pride Events: Data Collection and Analytic Implications of Venue Type – Ryan Weber, RTI International
• Participant Retention in Hard-to-Reach Populations: Strategies for Outreach – Cleo Jacobs Johnson, Mathematica Policy Research

Location: Chasm Creek B

Facilitator: Orin Day, RTI International

Session Focus: Roundtable to allow for discussion on the Tech Keynote Address

Location: Grand Mesa A

Facilitator: Zack Schwartz, U.S. Census Bureau

Session Focus: There are many challenges in project and staff management, as well as contact management.  These presentations will focus on some technical solutions and strategies employed by different survey shops for grappling with these challenges.

Presentations:
• IT Schedule Template for Survey Support Systems – Zack Schwartz, U.S. Census Bureau
• A Data-Driven Control System Model for Tracking Complex, Inter-related Follow-up Events and Incentives – Steve Gomori, RTI International
• The Effect of Applying Targeted Timing to Manually Sent Text Messages for Self-Administered Web Survey – Leah M Roberts, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC)
• Not the Usual Suspects: Looking to Sales and Marketing Software for Longitudinal Cancer Epidemiology Cohort Recruitment and Data Management – Jennifer Benbow, City of Hope
• Using the Canvas LMS for Better Staff Management – Nick Schultz, University of Wisconsin Survey Center

Bring your RDD lunch ticket and join us for lunch.

Attendees are seated at tables according to the number drawn on their lunch tickets at check in. RDD lunch is a fun way to meet and get to know other attendees!

Location: Grand Mesa F

Facilitator: Jennifer Renner, HealthPartners Institute

Session Focus: With the decline in response rates, survey research centers understand the need to personalize the content of surveys and other contact materials. In this group of presentations, experimental designs regarding the placement of confidentiality pledges and different envelope designs in addition to different survey formats in various modes will be discussed.

Presentations:
• Pledging Data Safety: The Placement of Confidentiality Pledges in Web Surveys and Contacting Materials – Nicole Tate, RTI International; Rob Lee, RTI International
• Customizing Surveys for Mobile Devices and Personal Computers – Geeta Sunkara, RTI International
• The Impact of Personalization Strategies on Survey Response Rates and Representation – Richard Hull, University of Nebraska, Lincoln – Bureau of Sociological Research

Location: Grand Mesa A

Facilitator: Rob Schultz, University of Wisconsin Survey Center

Session Focus: Paradata, or administrative data about a survey, is one of the most valuable metrics. Its’ use has come a long way since its inception and is now a guiding force for many survey research centers. In this group of presentations, various paradata uses are explored including sample management practices, interviewer behavior information and device data.

Presentations:
• Using Survey Paradata to Guide Interviewers: Trends in Respondent Concerns and Best Times to Call Among Geographic and Demographic Subgroups – Heidi Guyer, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC)
• Paradata from the Canadian 2016 Census of Population Electronic Questionnaires – Anthony Bremner, Statistics Canada
• Assessing the Effect of Sharing Cases Among Field Interviewers for the American Community Survey – James Lawrence, U.S. Census Bureau

Location: Chasm Creek A

Facilitator: Lindsey Witt-Swanson, University of Nebraska, Lincoln – Bureau of Sociological Research

Session Focus: Lindsey Witt-Swanson leads a roundtable where conference goers discuss their own experiences and get help with client management issues. Come learn from others’ experiences – the good, the bad, and the ugly – and bring your own experiences and current issues for advice.

Location: Grand Mesa B

Facilitator: Debra Lord, NORC at the University of Chicago

Session Focus: Hiring and retaining quality telephone and field interviewers is a common challenge among survey research centers. In this group of presentations, you will learn about current initiatives at different survey shops.

Presentations:
• Inuit Hiring Strategy (IHS) – Statistics Canada – Puja Challenger, Statistics Canada
• How Geographic Segmentation Helped Us Find Contact Centre Staff! – Fred de Haan, Numeris
• Innovative Motivational Strategies to Reduce Interviewer Attrition and a New Staffing Model: A Data Collection Effort in Review – Theresa Camelo, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC); Maureen O’Brien, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC); Heidi Guyer, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC)
• The Importance of Field Representative Feedback: Encouraging Engagement, Improving Training, and Generating Suggestions for Survey Operations – Lindsay Howden, U.S. Census Bureau

Location: Grand Mesa C

Facilitator: Gina-Qian Cheung, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC)

Session Focus: See how paradata has been used to improve instrument design, reduce breakoffs and improve data quality

Presentations:
• Using Paradata to Monitor Interviewers’ Instrument Navigation Behavior and Inform Instrument Technical Design: Case Studies from a National Household Surveys in Ghana and Thailand – Jay Lin, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC); Gina Cheung, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC)
• Implementing an Adaptive Intervention Design to Reduce Breakoffs – Andrew D. Piskorowski, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC); Felicitas Mittereder, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC); Andrew L. Hupp, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC)
• Using GPS-Data to Manage Field Staff and Supplement Traditional Data Quality Methods – Milton Cahoon, RTI International

Location: Chasm Creek B

Facilitator: Kurt Johnson, RTI International

Session Focus: Join us for a reboot of the popular roundtable discussion on call center tech issues. Topics for discussion include infrastructure improvements, software changes/upgrades, VOIP vs analog, automated dialing, small and large call center differences and challenges.

Refreshments served.

Location: Grand Mesa E

Facilitator: Rick Garvey, RAND Survey Research Group

Session Focus: Surveys of youth and young adult populations can be challenging. Survey Research Centers often times turn to new and innovative ways to recruit and maintain these populations. The successes and challenges of recruitment, tracking and various modes will be discussed in these presentations.

Presentations:
• Down on the Boulevard They Take it Hard. Surveying Homeless Youth about Tobacco Use on the Streets and Beaches of Los Angeles – Rick Garvey, RAND Survey Research Group; Fred Mills, RAND Survey Research Group
• Recruitment Efforts for High School Teens of Color – Nella Coleman, NORC at the University of Chicago; Vince Welch, NORC at the University of Chicago
• Lessons Learned from Administering an On-Line Version of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey in Eight Massachusetts School Districts – Mihaly Imre, JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc
• Data Collection Innovation and Project Management Challenges in a Multi-Mode Project with Young Adults – Mark Miazga, University of Minnesota

Location: Grand Mesa A

Facilitator: Josh Winston, U.S. Census Bureau

Session Focus: These presentations focus on different approaches to contacting respondents via mail and phone. The complexities and findings from various experiments will be discussed.

Presentations:
• You Already Called Me! – Exploring How Repeat Phone Numbers Affect the Success of an Ongoing Surveillance Tool – Nikki Gohring, University of Nebraska, Lincoln – Bureau of Sociological Research
• Unaddressed Mail vs Addressed Mail: a Comparison – Adam Zammit, Australian Consortium for Social and Political Research, Inc
• Managing the Current Population Survey Contact Attempts Pilot – John Baker, U.S. Census Bureau; Rhonda Baksa, U.S. Census Bureau

Location: Grand Mesa B

Facilitator: Barbara Ward, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC)

Session Focus: These presentations focus on how various study design techniques and interviewer strategies impact response rates.

Presentations:
• Response Rates and the Use of Translated Mail Forms: Does Presentation to a Mixed English and Spanish Population Affect Response Rates? – Lydia Newton, Oregon State University Survey Research Center
• Will They Hold out for a Shorter Survey? The Impact of Offering an Abbreviated Survey During the Initial Survey Round on Follow-up Participation Behavior – Nadia R Paoli, RTI International
• Does a Single Reminder Call to Return a Mailed Survey Improve the Cooperation Rate? – Julia Anderson, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute
• Give Me All the Data! Integrating Marketing Automation and Survey Distribution to Understand Response Rates – Kristen Savage, City of Hope; MPH,
• Using Debriefing Surveys and Exit Interviews with Telephone Interviewers to Increase the Success of Refusal Aversion and Conversion Techniques – Beth Hustedt, RTI International

Location: Grand Mesa F

Facilitator: Casey Easterday, HealthPartners Institute

Session Focus: Regardless of their size, survey research centers often face similar challenges implementing projects within resource constraints. A small Midwestern research center will detail the creative approaches it has leveraged to address these common challenges. This panel will highlight the expansive use of REDCap, a tool for building and managing surveys. Optimizing the use of available resources at this shop has streamlined processes and broadened capabilities contributing to growth and diversification of services.

Panelists:
• Jennifer Renner, HealthPartners Institute
• Casey Easterday, HealthPartners Institute

Location: Grand Mesa C

Facilitator: Heidi Guyer, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC)

Presentations:
• Constructing a Sampling Frame of Family Caregivers of People Receiving Medicaid-Funded Services: A Hard-to-Reach Population – Jacob Joseph-David MA, IMPAQ International, LLC; Leanne Clark-Shirley, IMPAQ International, LLC; Ann Middleton MPH, IMPAQ International, LLC; Frost Hubbard, IMPAQ International, LLC; Kelsey Walter, IMPAQ International, LLC
• Strategies to Increase Response Rates in a National Longitudinal Panel Survey of Low Income Medicare and Medicaid Recipients – Marielle S. Weindorf, DataStat, Inc; Beverly Weidmer, RAND Survey Research Group
• When Disaster Strikes: Effects of a Natural Disaster on a Longitudinal Field Research Project – Jen Parker, RAND Survey Research Group
• Operational Challenges to Telephone and Mail Data Collection in Areas Disrupted by Natural Disasters – Amie Conley, NORC at the University of Chicago

Location: Chasm Creek A

Facilitator: Eric White, University of Wisconsin Survey Center

Session Focus: Browse the showcase tables and get a hands-on demonstration of hardware and software for data collection from those who develop and use it.

Demonstrations:

• Sterling Software System – Eric White, University of Wisconsin Survey Center
• PARC by Langer Research Associates – Gary Langer, PARC by Langer Research Associates
• Introduction to RAPTER™: The Random Assignment, Participant Tracking, Enrollment, and Reporting System – Kathleen Feeney, Mathematica Policy Research
• Moving from Paper to Digital Capture – Challenges and Opportunities – Stuart Baynham, Office for National Statistics, United Kingdom
• Integrating Wearable Sensor Technology with Survey Data Collection – Randall Eckhoff, RTI International; Paul Kizakevich, RTI International; Robert Furberg, RTI International
• Canvas LMS for Better Staff Management – Nick Schultz, University of Wisconsin Survey Center
• Hands-on with Confirmit – Ryan Bendo, RAND Survey Research Group

Location: Chasm Creek B

Facilitator: Kevin Tharp, Indiana University Center for Survey Research

Session Focus: Tech issues discussed roundtable-style.

Continental breakfast served.

Location: Grand Mesa A

Facilitator: Kimberly Courey, NORC at the University of Chicago

Session Focus: With the ongoing challenge to maintain or improve response rates, surveys often turn to the use of incentives to help entice respondents into participating. In these session, we learn about the use of incentives in different populations and the impact of mixed monetary incentives.

Presentations:
• Incentives for Medical Professionals: Fun vs. Practical – Morgan Jones, East Tennessee State University
• Using Mixed Monetary Incentives to Increase UK’s Labour Force Survey Response – Jess Atkins, Office for National Statistics, United Kingdom
• Lessons Learned from Gathering Client Satisfaction Data in Substance Abuse and Mental Health Programs – Thomas W. Mangione, JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc; Mihaly Imre, JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc

Location: Grand Mesa B

Facilitator: Timothy Olson, U.S. Census Bureau

Session Focus: Although rare, interviewer observations or interactions can raise reports of suspected abuse to themselves or others. When this happens, it is imperative that protocols are in place. These presentations will outline what survey research centers were faced with when dealing with suspected or confirmed cases of abuse.

Presentations:
• Essential Elements of a Safety Protocol Addressing Respondent Distress; a How-To for Survey Research Organizations – Maureen O’Brien, UM-Survey Research Center (SRC)
• Developing a Comprehensive Plan for Triage and Reporting Interviewer Observations of Suspected Abuse – Barbara Lohr Ward, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC)
• Reassuring Interviewers and Keeping the Public Safe; The Impact of Introducing a Safeguarding Policy – Stephen Woodland, Office for National Statistics, United Kingdom

Location: Grand Mesa F

Facilitator: Casey Easterday, HealthPartners Institute

Session Focus: Managing a successful project requires concrete planning and tracking. In this session, presentations are focused on the innovative and new tools for monitoring data, tracking points and key measures.

Presentations:
• A Plan for All Seasons – Joshua Winston, U.S. Census Bureau; Jared Gerstenbluth, U.S. Census Bureau
• Metrics, Data Visualization, and Data Management Tools for the Modern Field Manager – Kyle Fennell, NORC at the University of Chicago
• We’re Just a Phone Call Away: Leveraging a New Call Center Approach to Provide Survey Support for a Longitudinal Research Study – Kristen Savage, City of Hope; MPH,
• New Interactive Dashboard for Managing the Health of Census Bureau Demographic Surveys – Anne Russell, U.S. Census Bureau

Location: Grand Mesa C

Facilitator: Richard Hull, University of Nebraska, Lincoln – Bureau of Sociological Research

Session Focus: Join Ricky Hull and Tim Sanders for a round table discussion of issues in program evaluation.

Topics to be discussed might include:

• Challenges of running pre- and post- surveys to evaluate what respondents learn during interventions or training programs (statistical issues, sample retention, etc.)
• Differences between question wording for surveys versus program evaluations
• Evaluation items or logistics
• Program evaluation at institutions, especially diversity and work or school climate or sexual harassment surveys
• Building evaluation standardization and comparability
• Reporting negative feedback

Location: Grand Mesa E

Facilitator: Eric White, University of Wisconsin Survey Center

Session Focus: A picture tells a thousand words. These presentations cover mapping and report visualization.

Presentations:
• Using Tableau Dashboards to Visualize and Manage Survey Collection – Richard Holden, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Amar Mann, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Tian Luo, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• MapAnything: a Geo-Productivity App for Field-Based Projects – Jennifer Benbow, City of Hope
• A No-Cost, Open Source Reporting Solution for Data Collection Projects – Rich Zemonek, RTI International
• The Response Outreach Area Mapper (ROAM): a New Tool to Identify, Understand, and Manage Hard-to-Survey Populations – Suzanne McArdle, U.S. Census Bureau

Location: Chasm Creek A

Facilitator: Bill Connett, UM-Survey Research Center (UM-SRC)

Session Focus: Testing and security are areas of instrument and application development that are sometimes overlooked. Learn from these expert presenters about methods for testing and security.

Presentations:
• Benefits of Using a Test Automation Framework Developed with Open Source Tools – Imrul Hasan, RTI International
• Dynamic and Static Code Analysis For Security Testing – Anwar Mohammed, RTI International
• Managing 5 Major Challenges in Instrument Testing – Al-Nisa Berry, RTI International

Refreshments served.

Location: Grand Mesa F

Facilitator: Kerryann DiLoreto, University of Wisconsin Survey Center

Join us for the closing session, where a mixed group of field and tech staff from a variety of survey research shops share exciting developments and innovative changes they see coming their way in the next few years. Following this “lightning round” of hearing what is on the horizon at different shops, we’ll turn to the audience for questions and some discussion of conference takeaways, and ways we’ll be able to put what we’ve learned at the conference to work for us as we head home.

Panelists include:

• Rob Schultz, University of Wisconsin Survey Center
• Heidi Guyer, University of Michigan Survey Research Center
• Erica Moore, Indiana University Center for Survey Research
• Julie Brown, RAND Survey Research Group
• Kyle Fennell, NORC at the University of Chicago
• Nathan Sikes, RTI International
• Merrill Shanks, UC Berkeley
• And more!