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Survey Research and Data Collection Projects

Survey Research and Data Collection Projects

Featured Project:

2012 Medicare Fee for Service Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Survey

Client: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 

For the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, IMPAQ is the prime contractor for a large-scale national survey of 275,000 beneficiaries who are enrolled in the Medicare fee-for-service program. The purpose of the survey is to collect data on consumer satisfaction with healthcare providers and systems and utilizes mail and telephone methods. For this project, IMPAQ oversees and coordinates all data collection activities, including two waves of mail surveys and 30,000 telephone interviews per year. Survey results will be presented in the Medicare & You handbook and made available to Medicare beneficiaries on the Plan Finder tool on the Medicare.gov website. In addition, Medicare administrators and policymakers will rely on the results to manage the program, devise and implement quality improvement efforts, and make policy decisions.

Job Corps National Data Collection Project

Client: Office of Job Corps, U.S. Department of Labor

For the U.S. Department of Labor’s Job Corps program, IMPAQ is conducting a national survey to collect information on Job Corps students’ experiences and outcomes. The Job Corps Program, a federally funded education and vocational training program for at-risk youth aged 16 through 24, provides services to approximately 60,000 youths each year at 122 centers across the country. For this project, IMPAQ conducts more than 75,000 telephone surveys each year with former Job Corps enrollees and graduates to assess their satisfaction with the program and to collect data on their post-program employment and educational outcomes. The Office of Job Corps uses the data collected from the survey to measure program outcomes at a national level and to assess Job Corps Centers’ effectiveness.

Job Corps Evaluation

Client: Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor

The purpose of this project is to determine the factors that contribute to or impede the successful operation of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Job Corps program.  Through an examination of Office of Job Corps structures and Job Corps Center characteristics and practices that have not previously been evaluated the IMPAQ team will analyze how particular Office of Job Corps structures (such as participant selection criteria, performance-based fees, staffing, and the current Performance Measurement System) affect Job Corps success. We will also evaluate Job Corps Center characteristics, including program components and organizational capacity, and practices that influence the success of the centers to achieve positive effects on their participants. Once factors, practices, and processes that contribute to the success of Job Corps have been identified recommendations for alternative approaches to measuring Job Corps Center performance will be presented.

Specific tasks being performed include:

  • Conducting interviews with Job Corps Management
  • Developing performance measures and ranking systems
  • Conducting site visits to Job Corps Centers
  • Analyzing administrative data
  • Administering a survey to directors of Job Corps Centers.

The final deliverable for this project is a Final Report summarizing the results of the analysis and providing appropriate recommendations to DOL.

Survey of National Women's Health Week Partners

Client: Office on Women's Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

IMPAQ International is supporting the Office on Women’s Health (OWH) in designing, implementing, analyzing and reporting on a survey of the entities that partner or collaborate with the Office on Women’s Health on National Women’s Health Week (NWHW). NWHW promotes OWH’s vision of educating and empowering women to undertake health enhancing behavior change. This survey will help OWH to determine: partnering organizations’ satisfaction with activity planning resources; how partnering organizations learned about NWHW; how partnering organizations promoted NWHW; what types of events partnering organizations hold; the value partnering organizations derive from NWHW; and the brand equity of NWHW and National Women’s Check up Day.

The specific tasks performed include: 1) design the study, including detailed research questions, analysis plan including sampling and recruitment strategies, and a detailed timeline; 2) develop and test the survey instrument, including cognitive testing; 3) obtain OMB clearance; 4) collect data via an online survey; 5) analyze data according to the OMB-approved plan; 5) develop a report for OWH. Based on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the survey responses, IMPAQ will develop recommendations for making future observances of NWHW more effective and applicable to OWH partners and collaborators. 

Forms Review and Improvement for the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) Program

Client: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor

Funded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and under subcontract to Office Remedies, Inc. (ORI), the purpose of this project is to help BLS develop a list of new data elements that could be added to the JOLTS (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey) instrument. The work consists of 1) developing and testing a questionnaire to assess the availability, accuracy, and timeliness of the new data elements; 2) administering the questionnaire to 30 business establishments identified by BLS; 3) analyzing the data, and 4) developing a report on interview findings. 

Parts C and D Complaints Resolution Performance Measure

Client:  Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
 
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) awarded IMPAQ International, LLC a contract to develop and support implementation of a performance measurement for the Medicare Advantage (Part C) and Prescription Drug (Part D) program that validates plan resolution of beneficiary complaints closed by plans from the unique perspective of the beneficiaries themselves. CMS may choose to publish the outcomes of this contract as a performance metric in November 2011.

IMPAQ will develop and support implementation of a plan performance measure that represents plan resolution of beneficiary complaints from the perspective of the beneficiaries themselves. IMPAQ developed methodologies for identifying a statistically valid sample of beneficiary complaints (approximately 6,000 beneficiaries) needed to analyze the complaint’s closure. After initial analysis concluded and OMB PRA approval was received, IMPAQ conducted a pilot test of the survey data collection. Currently, IMPAQ is contacting, interviewing, and summarizing beneficiary experience and summarizing/analyzing the resultant data to assess veracity of the resolution of beneficiary complaints from the perspective of the beneficiaries themselves via objective exploration of the beneficiary’s complaint resolution experience.

Evaluation of the Creative Curriculum for Preschools

Client: Teaching Strategies, Inc.

Under subcontract to Chesapeake Research Associates, IMPAQ is assisting with an evaluation of the Creative Curriculum for Preschools. First developed in 1988 by Teaching Strategies, Inc., this curriculum is among the most widely used in preschool programs in the United States.  The purpose of the project is to conduct an independent random assignment evaluation of the Creative Curriculum.  This evaluation assesses the impact of the curriculum on the classroom environment, children’s development and kindergarten readiness, and whether the curriculum can be implemented with fidelity. The evaluation is being conducted in 45 preschools and includes the collection of program background data, parent and child information, pre-and-post test measures, classroom observation data, implementation and fidelity data, and site visits. IMPAQ is responsible for all aspects of the field data collection task.  Major activities under this task include: recruiting and hiring classroom assessors; conducting classroom assessor training; Conducting student testing and classroom observations during the fall and spring across two school years; and ensuring quality control.

Centers for Working Families (CWF) Evaluation Project

Client: Economic Mobility Corporation

IMPAQ is under subcontract with Research Support Services (RSS) to conduct two waves of telephone follow up interviews for the Centers for Working Families (CWF) Evaluation Project.  The CWF program seeks to increase families’ financial stability by integrating services and providing assistance with job placement, financial management and public benefits.  The study is funded through a Social Innovation Fund grant that LISC received from the Corporation for National and Community Service and by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. For this project, IMPAQ is contacting approximately 2,500 potential respondents to learn about whether the CWF services help people increase their income and assets and become financially stable.  Our role in the project is to provide telephone data collection services to conduct baseline and follow-up telephone surveys.  The results of the study will inform the work of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), which manages the CWF initiative and provides funding and technical assistance to the organizations implementing the CWF model.  The results will also be used to inform a larger audience, including practitioners, policymakers, government agencies, philanthropic funders, and other interested parties, about the effectiveness of the CWF model.   

Mixed Income Project (MIP)

Client:  Research Support Services, Inc.
 
The MIP Project is a study that examines how families in two large metropolitan areas have fared in the economic circumstances of the last two years.  The study re-interviewed participants of two earlier studies, one in Chicago and another on in Los Angeles.  Because it is a follow-up to those studies, it compares how people are doing now as opposed to the time of their prior interviews.  The study is being conducted with funds from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation awarded to Harvard University and UCLA.  IMPAQ is doing the telephone surveys and Research Support Services (a research organization in the Chicago area) is doing the face-to-face follow-ups in Chicago and L.A. for Harvard University.

Of the two studies, the one in Los Angeles is the one of interest to IMPAQ because it will be first attempted by telephone.  A field test of 300 cases began in late May 2011, where the IMPAQ Survey Center will attempt to complete interviews by telephone with participants of the most recent wave of the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (LA FANS).

Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (LA FANS)

Client:  Research Support Services, Inc.
 
The Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (L.A.FANS) is a longitudinal study of families in Los Angeles County, California, and of the neighborhoods in which they live.

Research suggests that safe, supportive neighborhoods are important for children, teens, and adults. But what makes a neighborhood a positive place to live? This study has tried to answer this question by comparing the lives of children and adults in a broad range of neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles County.

The L.A.FANS focuses on:

  • Neighborhood, family, and peer effects on children's development
  • Effects of welfare reform at the neighborhood level
  • Residential mobility and neighborhood change

Wave 2 of L.A.FANS fieldwork was completed at the end of 2008.  Interviews were conducted using English and Spanish language Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) questionnaires—the language of the interview depended on the language with which the respondent was more comfortable. Sampled respondents who were not able to respond in English or Spanish were not interviewed.  The interview was quite long, sometimes taking up to two hours.

Wave 2 of the Los Angeles Survey of Families and Neighborhoods (LAFANS) resulted in 1,242 completed interviews with adult respondents who were selected as part of the original Wave 1 study and who lived in Los Angeles County at Wave 2; 199 “new entrant” adult respondents – i.e., adults randomly selected (RSA) from the original 65 L.A. census tracts who moved into those neighborhoods between Wave 1 and Wave 2 -- ; 1,579 children who were selected as part of the original Wave 1 study who lived in Los Angeles County at Wave 2; and 308 new entrant children. All interviewees were living in Los Angeles County in Wave 2. Wave 1 respondents who were not living in L.A County in Wave 2 were, where possible, contacted by telephone for a very brief interview, primarily to ascertain location. They are otherwise not part of the Wave 2 study.

Only respondents who participated in Wave 2 and who were living at that time in Los Angeles County are eligible for the MIP study.  If they were children in Wave 2, they are only eligible for MIP if they have turned 18 since then.

Forms Design and Pilot Testing for the BLS QCEW Environmental Sector Industry Employment Project

Client: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor

Funded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), this project assists BLS and its Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program to design forms to collect data on environmental sector business activity at individual establishments.  The project helps BLS to better understand, collect, and produce economic statistical data on environmental sector industry employment in the U.S.  The project consists of two phases:  Phase I encompasses a feasibility or response analysis survey (RAS) of 200 establishments to gain an understanding of key research questions and understand the data collection environment.  Phase II encompasses cognitive interviews and the subsequent design of an initial data collection form followed by four waves of forms revision and testing.  Findings from this formative research will assist in the design of data collection forms that will be used in a large annual survey of 120,000 business establishments.  Under subcontract to Office Remedies, Inc. (ORI), IMPAQ is leading the forms design, cognitive testing, and data analysis for the project, as well as collaborating on the final report.

Data Collection for the HUD Counseling Outcomes Study

Client:  U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of Labor

IMPAQ International serves as a subcontractor to Abt Associates, Inc., to collect data on counselors and counseling clients at HUD-approved housing counseling agencies. The study focuses on people seeking counseling prior to purchasing their first house, as well as people seeking foreclosure mitigation counseling.  As part of this project, HUD hopes to gain a better understanding of:

  • Characteristics of the clients who seek counseling.
  • Characteristics of the counselors at the agencies.
  • Housing-related outcomes following counseling.
  • Elements of successful counseling interventions.

Twenty-nine counseling agencies were selected for this study using a stratified sampling scheme that results in a nationally representative sample of agencies.

IMPAQ designed and developed a Web-based data collection system that counselors and project staff used to capture data on baseline characteristics of clients, counseling services provided to clients, and clients’ housing outcomes.  One component of the system used optical mark recognition (OMR) scanning technology to capture data from paper forms.  The system performed data validation at multiple stages in the process.  IMPAQ also programmed and tested a CATI survey instrument and administered the survey to counseling clients approximately a year after initial contact with the agency.

Survey Data Collection for the Reemployment and Eligibility Assessment (REA) Study

Client:  Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor
 
As part of the data collection effort for the REA study, IMPAQ staff designed and administered a telephone survey to more than 9,000 persons in 21 states who received REA services.  The survey enabled IMPAQ to collect data on participants’ program experience, employment, and earnings outcomes.  IMPAQ also collected and analyzed unemployment insurance administrative data to assess program impacts.
 

Survey Data Collection for the Privatization Social Support Project

Client: Republic of Turkey Prime Ministry Privatization Administration (World Bank)
 
This project provided technical assistance and consulting services to the Turkish government to assess the social impact of privatization on the Turkish economy and workforce.  As a part of the World Bank’s Privatization Social Support Project (PSSP) in Turkey, the study incorporated three separate studies, each with its own objective and implementation methodology:
  • Privatization Economic Impact Study
  • Privatization Coping Strategies Study
  • Labor Redeployment Services Study

As part of the data collection efforts, IMPAQ conducted a quantitative survey to assess the economic status of 3,000 workers displaced by privatization, and a qualitative survey to assess the needs and coping strategies of 200 displaced workers.  Each of the surveys was administered at three points in time during the course of the study.  In addition to these data collection efforts, IMPAQ collected administrative data to conduct a quasi-experimental comparison study of participants in labor redeployment programs.

For this project, IMPAQ provided technical experts in a variety of fields, including survey design and development, qualitative impact analysis, and experimental design of evaluation impact.  IMPAQ implemented the studies with assistance from Turkish subcontractors and local Turkish consultants.  Final project reports included a thorough analysis of the data, conclusions, recommendations, and policy implications.

Growing America Through Entrepreneurship (Project GATE) Survey Data Collection

Client: Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor
 
Project GATE is an experimental design demonstration and evaluation project that investigated the impact of providing microenterprise start-up services to interested individuals.  As part of the data collection effort for the evaluation of Project GATE, IMPAQ conducted a telephone survey of more than 4,000 study participants and control group members to collect three waves of data:  at 6 months, 18 months, and 60 months following random assignment.  Data collected during these interviews included information on employment and earnings outcomes at several time periods after receiving training and technical assistance services provided as part of this program.  The survey data also provided information important to assessing long-term program impacts.