Interviewer Remarks, Characteristics & Contacts

Interviewer Remarks, Characteristics & Contacts
After the interviewer has finished surveying the respondent, the interviewer fills out an interviewer remarks section, providing objective and subjective details about the interview. Interviewers also provide demographic characteristics about themselves. In addition, information on the interviewer's contacts with the respondent (number of attempts at interviewing the respondent, for instance) is available.
Interviewer Remarks
Each NLSY97 questionnaire includes a section that interviewers complete after finishing the interview with the respondent. Some of the information is objective (the presence of another person during the survey, for instance) while other information is subjective on the part of the interviewer (such as rating how cooperative the respondent was). Interviewers do not receive specific training on completing subjective items, so ratings are not likely to be comparable across interviewers. These variables are found in the "Interviewer Remarks" Area of Interest and have the prefix "YIR" in their question name.
Special circumstances. All survey rounds feature a series of questions about special circumstances that might have affected the quality of the data. The interviewers were asked to assess whether the respondent was hard of hearing, unable to see well, unable to read, lacking in basic social skills, mentally handicapped or retarded, physically handicapped, ill/injured, under the influence of drugs or alcohol, had a poor command of English, or experienced environmental distractions during the interview. Starting in round 6, interviewers also were asked to assess whether the respondent had reading abilities good enough to complete the self-administered sections of the interview without an audio component.
Respondent's general demeanor. In all survey rounds, interviewers rated how informative/cooperative and how candid/honest a respondent appeared during the interview. In addition, the interviews assessed the respondent's overall understanding (good, fair, poor) of the questions.
Other respondent characteristics. Starting in round 2, interviewers recorded race and gender for each respondent based on the interviewers' observations. Beginning in round 6, the race question conformed to new OMB guidelines on collecting racial identification of individuals. The same guidelines are followed in all race questions in the NLSY97 interview since round 6. Starting in round 12, the race and ethnicity questions were not asked; instead, the interviewers recorded the color of the respondent's skin using a color card with skin color gradients from 1-10 (1 being lightest and 10 being darkest) to determine a color that most closely corresponded to the respondent's facial coloring. The skin color variable was also included in rounds 13 and 14 for respondents who were not round 12 participants.
Presence of others during interview. All survey rounds include information about whether others were present (listening and/or participating) during the interview and who the person or persons were (infant child, family member, etc.). Interviewers attempt to secure a private environment for all interviews, so the presence of another individual (other than a small child) is an exception and can be considered a disruption to the interview.
Home and neighborhood characteristics. In each survey round, the interviewer recorded where the interview took place: inside the respondent's home, immediately outside the respondent's home, in the interviewer's vehicle, or in a separate location. In survey rounds 1-5, where possible, interviewers assessed the exterior and interior condition of the respondent's home and the general state of other buildings in the neighborhood. Interviewers for rounds 1-5 also provided a description of the neighborhood (rural, urban, etc.), the most common type of residence (single home or apartment buildings, for example) found on the respondent's street, and whether the interviewer was concerned for his or her safety while at the interview.
Interview mode. Starting in round 2, interviewers recorded whether any portion of the interview took place on the phone. In all rounds, interviewers indicated if the interview was conducted in Spanish or English.
Interviewer Characteristics
Starting in round 6, NLSY97 interviewers provided demographic information about themselves. These variables begin with the prefix "INTERVIEWER_" in their question names. The following data about interviewers are available for rounds 6 and up (unless otherwise indicated):
- INTERVIEWER_PUBID. Each interviewer receives a public ID number that remains the same for that interviewer across rounds.
- INTERVIEWER_STATUS. Interviewer was on staff during a particular round (yes/no).
- INTERVIEWER_POSITION. Position held by interviewer (either field interviewer or field manager).
- INTERVIEWER_DEMOGRAPHIC. Did the interviewer provide demographic data during this round? (yes/no).
- INTERVIEWER_YOB. Interviewer's year of birth.
- INTERVIEWER_ETHNICITY. Interviewer indicates whether he/she is of Hispanic origin (yes/no).
- INTERVIEWER_RACE. Race of interviewer.
- INTERVIEWER_GENDER. Gender of interviewer.
- INTERVIEWER_HGC. Interviewer's highest grade completed.
- INTERVIEWER_OCCUPATION. Current or previous occupation of interviewer.
- INTERVIEWER_EXPERIENCE. Number of years worked as an interviewer for any survey organization.
- INTERVIEWER_START~M (~Y) and INTERVIEWER_END~M (~Y). The month and day the interviewer started and stopped working on a particular survey round. Available starting in round 8.
- Rx_INTERVIEWER_FIRST_DAY and Rx_INTERVIEWER_LAST_DAY. The sequential day of the field period when the interviewer first worked in a particular round. Available starting in round 14 (Prefix changes according to round number).
- INTERVIEWER_HPC_8WKS. The interviewer's average hours worked per completed interview as a proportion of the overall hours worked per case for the project at the end of the first 8 weeks of the field period. Available starting in round 9.
- INTERVIEWER_SPANISH. The interviewer is classified as Spanish speaking (yes/no). Available starting in round 8.
- INTERVIEWER_SPECIAL_TEAM. Interviewer indicates whether he/she was on a special team (yes/no). Special teams are groups of experienced interviewers who worked almost exclusively on difficult cases from the start of the field period. Available only as a round 10 variable.
- Rx_FI_ATTITUDE1, Rx_FI_ATTITUDE2, Rx_FI_ATTITUDE3. Starting in round 13, interviewers were asked their opinions about the importance of the NLSY (Prefix changes according to round number).
Interview Contacts
From round 2 on, each interviewer recorded (in the Interviewer Remarks section) the number of calls and/or visits needed to complete the interview (see YIR_1765 and YIR_1770). Interviewers also provided information on whether they themselves had been the ones who had interviewed the respondent in the previous interview (YIR-1780).
Starting in round 7 through the current round, the following variables were made available about the history of contacting the respondent for each survey round. The variable names begin with the number of the survey round (for instance, R13_ATTEMPTS). These variables are available regardless of whether the respondent was successfully interviewed for that survey year:
- Rx_ATTEMPTS. The number of times a project staff member attempted to reach the respondent. This number includes attempts to reach respondent contacts and other individuals who might be helpful in completing the interview, not just attempts to reach the respondent himself/herself.
- Rx_REFUSED. A yes/no variable that indicates whether the respondent refused to participate at least once.
- Rx_FIRST_ATTEMPT. The day of fielding period of first contact attempt for that survey year. This variable indicates the sequential day of the field period when the first attempt was made to contact the respondent.
- Rx_LAST_ATTEMPT. The day of fielding period of last contact attempt for survey year. This variable indicates the sequential day of the field period when the final attempt was made to contact the respondent.
- Rx_PEOPLE_WORKING. The number of field staff attempting contacts with respondent (total number of interviewers that worked on the case).
- R10_CONTACTS. Whether the respondent himself/herself ever initiated contact by email, by calling the 800 number, or by returning the advance letter. Asked in round 10 only.
Cohorts
- NLSY97
- Topical Guide to the Data
- Asterisk Tables
- I. Employment, Unemployment, and Job Search (age restrictions as of interview date)
- II. Schooling (age restrictions as of 12/31/96)
- III. Training (age restrictions as of interview date)
- IV. Income, Assets, and Program Participation
- V. Family Formation (age restrictions as of end of previous calendar year--12/31/96 in rd 1, 12/31/97 in rd 2, and so on)
- VI. Family Background (age restrictions as of 12/31/1996)
- VII. Expectations
- VIII. Attitudes, Behaviors, and Time Use
- IX. Health (age restrictions as of 12/31/96)
- X. Political Participation
- XI. Environmental Variables (in main data set)
- Education
- Employment
- Household, Geography & Contextual Variables
- Family Background
- Marital History, Childcare & Fertility
- Income
- Health
- Attitudes
- Crime & Substance Use
- Asterisk Tables
- Intro to the Sample
- Using & Understanding the Data
- Other Documentation
- Get Data
- Topical Guide to the Data
- NLSY79
- Topical Guide to the Data
- Asterisk Tables
- Education
- Employment
- Employment: An Introduction
- Work Experience
- Jobs & Employers
- Class of Worker
- Discrimination
- Fringe Benefits
- Industries
- Job Characteristics Index
- Job Satisfaction
- Job Search
- Labor Force Status
- Military
- Occupations
- Time & Tenure with Employers
- Wages
- Work History Data
- Employer History Roster
- Business Ownership
- Retirement
- Household, Geography & Contextual Variables
- Family Background
- Marital History, Childcare & Fertility
- Income
- Health
- Attitudes
- Crime & Substance Use
- Intro to the Sample
- Using & Understanding the Data
- Other Documentation
- Codebook Supplement
- NLSY79 Attachment 3: Industrial and Occupational Classification Codes
- NLSY79 Attachment 4: Fields of Study in College
- NLSY79 Attachment 5: Index of Labor Unions and Employee Associations
- NLSY79 Attachment 6: Other Kinds of Training Codes
- NLSY79 Attachment 7: Other Certificate Codes
- NLSY79 Attachment 8: Health Codes
- NLSY79 Attachment 100: Geographic Regions
- NLSY79 Attachment 101: Country Codes
- NLSY79 Attachment 102: Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS)
- NLSY79 Attachment 103: Religion Codes
- NLSY79 Attachment 106: Profiles of American Youth (ASVAB Data/AFQT Scores)
- NLSY79 Appendix 1: Employment Status Recode Variables (1979-1998 and 2006)
- NLSY79 Appendix 2: Total Net Family Income Variable Creation (1979-2014)
- NLSY79 Appendix 3: Job Satisfaction Measures
- NLSY79 Appendix 4: Job Characteristics Index 1979-1982
- NLSY79 Appendix 5: Supplemental Fertility and Relationship Variables
- NLSY79 Appendix 6: Urban-Rural and SMSA-Central City Variables
- NLSY79 Appendix 7: Unemployment Rate
- NLSY79 Appendix 8: Highest Grade Completed & Enrollment Status Variable Creation
- NLSY79 Appendix 9: Linking Employers Through Survey Years
- NLSY79 Appendix 11: Round 12 (1990) Survey Administration Methods
- NLSY79 Appendix 12: Most Important Job Learning Activities (1993-94)
- NLSY79 Appendix 13: Intro to CAPI Questionnaires and Codebooks
- NLSY79 Appendix 14: Instrument Rosters
- NLSY79 Appendix 15: Recipiency Event Histories
- NLSY79 Appendix 16: 1994 Recall Experiment
- NLSY79 Appendix 17: Interviewer Characteristics Data
- NLSY79 Appendix 18: Work History Data
- NLSY79 Appendix 19: SF-12 Health Scale Scoring
- NLSY79 Appendix 20: Round 20 (2002) Early Bird and Income Recall Experiments
- NLSY79 Appendix 21: Attitudinal Scales
- NLSY79 Appendix 22: Migration Distance Variables for Respondent Locations
- NLSY79 Appendix 23: Revised Asset and Debt Variables and Computed TOTAL Net Wealth Variables
- NLSY79 Appendix 24: Reanalysis of the 1980 AFQT Data from the NLSY79
- NLSY79 Appendix 25: Attitudinal Scale Scoring
- NLSY79 Appendix 26: Non-Response to Financial Questions and Entry Points
- NLSY79 Appendix 27: IRT Item Parameter Estimates, Scores and Standard Errors
- NLSY79 Appendix 28: NLSY79 Employer History Roster
- NLSY79 Appendix 29: Date of Interview Current Status Variables
- NLSY79/97 Cross-Cohort Data
- Geocode Codebook Supplement
- Appendix 7: Unemployment Rates
- Appendix 10: Geocode Documentation
- Attachment 100: Geographic Regions
- Attachment 101: Country Codes
- Attachment 102: State FIPS Codes
- Attachment 104, Part A: 1981 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSAs)
- Attachment 104, Part B: 1983 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs)
- Attachment 104, Part C: 1983 Consolidated MSAs and Associated Primary MSAs (CMSAs and PMSAs)
- Attachment 104, Part D: 1983 PMSAs and Associated CMSAs
- Attachment 104, Part E: 1988 MSAs, CMSAs, and Associated PMSAs
- Attachment 104, Part F: 2004 MSAs, CMSAs, and Associated PMSAs
- Attachment 104, Part G: 2006 Core-Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs)
- Attachment 105: Addendum to FICE Codes
- Attachment 106: Codebook Pages for Geocode and Zipcode Variables
- Questionnaires
- Tutorials
- Errata
- Errata for 1979-2016 Data Release
- Errata for 1979-2014 Data Release
- Errata for 1979-2012 Data Release
- Errata for 1979-2010 Data Release
- Errata for 1979-2008 Data Release
- Errata for 1979-2006 Data Release
- Errata for 1979-2004 Data Release
- Errata for 1979-2002 Data Release
- Errata for 1979-2000 Data Release
- Technical Sampling Report
- School & Transcript Surveys Documentation
- Codebook Supplement
- Get Data
- Topical Guide to the Data
- NLSY79 Child/YA
- Topical Guide to the Data
- Intro to the Sample
- Using & Understanding the Data
- Other Documentation
- Codebook Supplement
- Appendix A: HOME-SF Scales (NLSY79 Child)
- Appendix B: Composition of the Temperament Scales (NLSY79 Child)
- Appendix C: Motor & Social Development (NLSY79 Child)
- Appendix D: Behavior Problems Index (NLSY79 Child)
- Appendix D, Part 1: Composition of the BPI subscales
- Appendix D, Part 2a: BPI Anxious/Depressed Subscale
- Appendix D, Part 2b: BPI Antisocial Subscale
- Appendix D, Part 2c: BPI Dependent Subscale
- Appendix D, Part 2d: BPI Headstrong Subscale
- Appendix D, Part 2e: BPI Hyperactive Subscale
- Appendix D, Part 2f: BPI Peer Conflicts/Withdrawn Subscale
- Appendix D, Part 2g: BPI Full Scale
- Appendix D, Part 3a: BPI Internalizing Subscale
- Appendix D, Part 3b: BPI Externalizing Subscale
- Appendix D, Part 3c: BPI Total Scores
- Appendix E: Sample SPSSx Program for Merging NLSY79 Child/YA & Mother Files
- Appendix F: Sample SAS Program for Merging NLSY79 Child/YA & Mother Files
- Appendix G: NLSY79 Child Assessment Scores, Reference Numbers (2010-2014)
- Appendix H: Identification Codes in the Child and Young Adult Database
- Attachment 100: Codebook Pages for Young Adult Geocode Data
- Questionnaires
- Errata
- Errata for 2016 Child/Young Adult Release
- Errata for 2014 Child/Young Adult Release
- Data Addition: New Work and School Status Variables Created
- Errata for 2012 Child/Young Adult Release
- Errata for 2010 Child/Young Adult Release
- Errata for 2008 Child/Young Adult Release
- Errata for 2006 Child/Young Adult Release
- Errata for 2004 Child/Young Adult Release
- Errata for 2002 Child/Young Adult Release
- Errata for 2000 Child/Young Adult Release
- Research/Technical Reports
- Codebook Supplement
- Get Data
- NLS Mature and Young Women
- NLS Older and Young Men