Learning the Lessons of History: Getting the Most From a Field Staff-Powered Contact History Instrument
Daniel Goldstein
New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development
Jack B. R Jerome
New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development
The Census uses a Contact History Instrument (CHI)-a short survey completed by field representatives about each contact attempt-to aid fieldwork and track response rates during survey production. CHIs are a useful tool for improving efficiency and reducing costs. The New York City Housing and Neighborhood Study (NYCHANS) had adopted a somewhat longer CHI, employing skip and loop patterns for different types of contact attempts to maintain efficiency. Project staff used paradata collected through CHIs to assist with cooperation rate tracking, route cases based on propensity to respond, and to inform field strategies. Case-level data were published in concise and organized dashboards (HANStat) that Interviewers used during recruitment. The HANStat dashboards provided a clear and informative distillation of each case including case notes, current contact information, and detailed attempt history. Using a single, multipurpose CHI provided great value to the NYCHANS team. Our CHI and the HANStat proved to be flexible across different types of interviews. These tools proved to be invaluable given the relatively minimal cost and effort required to fill them out and update the dashboard.