Testing a Privacy-Protected Method with Major Language Groups for Collecting Data on Immigration Status by In-Person Surveys

National Opinion Research Center, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

Government data-collection projects do not ask direct questions about immigration status because such questions are deemed to be self-incriminating. This project will address the issue of threatening or highly sensitive questions with the Grouped Answers Method (GAM). This method is designed to increase foreign-born respondents' willingness to participate in in-person interviews by offering absolute anonymity protection. It also is designed to eliminate (or minimize) measurement errors arising from perceived threat by the foreign-born respondent. The researchers will administer GAM in a field test with two of the six major language groups covering 98 percent of the American population. The method involves (1) showing each respondent a flash card with immigration statuses grouped in three boxes; (2) asking the respondent to pick the box that contains his or her current immigration status; and (3) never asking any respondent if he or she is undocumented. Slightly different flash cards are used with two non-overlapping equivalent samples of respondents, with each sample group shown a different card. The project will fulfill three research objectives: (1) appraise in cognitive pretests the usability and limitations of the GAM by investigating culturally sensitive aspects of a survey of the foreign-born, including recent arrivals, the early immigrants, and those with limited English proficiency; (2) design a survey questionnaire involving rigorous pretests with ethnic minorities; and (3) administer a field test with an optimal complex sampling design yet with limited generalizability, given a sample concentrated in a Chicago metropolitan area. The project will result in direct estimates of the foreign-born in all legal immigration statuses and an indirect estimate of the number of undocumented residents. This project will develop and refine an innovative method of asking sensitive questions to foreign-born populations. Project activities will demonstrate the usability of the GAM with the foreign-born populations with different levels of linguistic and cross-cultural experience. The multi-cultural survey issues investigated in this project, including application of recent developments, will advance understanding of comparative survey methodologies and help develop best practice of crafting culturally sensitive questionnaires to be used for ethnic minorities. Graduate students will participate in research throughout the project, fostering creative integration of research and education. The project's pilot surveys in ethnic communities will promote efforts to learn about foreign-born residents and their participation in the American economy. GAM offers the possibility of providing reliable, valid data on immigration status in the foreign-born population, and project findings have the potential to produce substantial returns to government agencies, policymakers, researchers, and the general public within the U.S. and abroad.