Evaluation of the Ticket to Work Program, Implementation ...

C-112. Data Collection ProceduresPrior to the interview, an advance letter and a list of frequently asked questions andanswers was sent to all sampled beneficiaries for whom we had a valid address. The advanceletter, printed on SSA letterhead and signed by an SSA official, identified SSA as the sponsorof the survey and MPR as the survey contractor, explained the purpose of the survey,offered assurances of confidentiality, and included a toll-free number and e-mail address thatrespondents could use to contact MPR with questions, and/or call to complete the interviewat their own convenience. A toll-free TTY number was also included in the advance letter.To encourage participation and show appreciation for response, a post-paid incentivepayment of $10 was offered to respondents who completed the survey.Approximately three days after the advance materials were mailed, CATI calls began toall sample persons. If a sample person was not able to participate in the survey due to his orher disability, a proxy respondent was sought. If no proxy was available and an in-personinterview was not possible, the final status of the case was classified as a nonresponse.Sample persons or proxies who requested an in-person interview and who were eligible forfield followup were held for the start of CAPI data collection.3. LocatingPrior to the advance material mailing, all addresses were verified or updated using acommercially available database. As addresses or telephone numbers were identified asinvalid, MPR used a variety of techniques for locating updated information, including:database searches; calling relatives and friends; receiving updated contact information fromSSA; and making in-person visits for field locating. Due to these efforts, approximately 92percent of the sample was located for interviewing.4. CATI, CAPI, and Proxy InterviewingIn total, 6,283 cases were completed by telephone. Eighty-two percent of theRepresentative Beneficiary Sample completes (n=5,323) and 89 percent of the TicketParticipant Sample completes (n=956) were completed via CATI. Thirty-one CATI caseswere completed using TTY, Relay, or instant messaging technologies. Approximately 50percent of the total completes were obtained before the start of CAPI data collection (May2004).In all, 3,109 cases, or approximately 30 percent of the total sample, were sent to thefield for an in-person interview. Of these, 394 (13 percent) were eventually completed bytelephone and 1,301 (42 percent) were completed by field interviewers. Most cases that weresent to the field (63 percent) were sent because they could not be located by electronicsearches or telephone attempts or did not have a telephone. Another 20 percent were sentto the field because the sample person initially refused a CATI interview. An additional 16percent were sent to the field because they were difficult to contact via telephone or hadevaded contact efforts. The remaining one percent was sent to the field because theyrequested an in-person interview. Eighteen percent of the Representative BeneficiaryAppendix C: National Beneficiary Survey Methodology