Conducting Income Survey’s Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs “Serving Indiana’s rural communities through technical, financial and personal assistance”

2 Purpose of a Survey Determine if a CDBG National Objective can be met by a proposed project activity Obtain demographic information from survey area residents

3 Program Service Area True or False? The service area… Is always the legal boundaries of the applicant? Needs to coincide with census tract boundaries? Is based on the area where the benefitting residents live?

4 Survey Methodology Two methods of survey: Census (100% survey of service area) Sampling (random sample of service area) Which method should you use?

5 Sampling Surveys Selecting the Sample: Define survey population (service area) Determine how many households need to be interviewed Make allowances for un-reachables and non-respondents Actual sample selection

6 Defining the Population Need accurate method to identify all households in the service area City indexes, telephone books and 911 maps are helpful Not everyone has a land line anymore Tax rolls can be misleading

7 Sample Size Do not try to survey everyone unless the small sample size dictates it All households in an area must have equal chance of selection Use random numbers table or on- line randomizer like or

8 Six Steps 1.Select the Survey Type 2.Develop the Questionnaire 3.Select the Sample 4.Conduct the Survey 5.Determine the Results 6.Document and Save your Results

9 Step One: Select Survey Type 1.Mail Survey (self administered) 2.Face to Face interviews (Door to Door) 3.Telephone interviews

10 Mailed Surveys 1.Basic method for collecting data 2.Survey form should be mailed with self-addressed return envelope 3.Usually has lowest response rate

11 Face to Face Interviews Interviewer visits house directly Survey form completed onsite Interviewers need training Follow up visits usually required Highest response rate

12 Telephone Interviews 1.Questions asked via telephone 2.Need to ensure proper respondent answers questions 3.Telephone interviews

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14 Step Two: Develop Questionnaire Develop survey form –must either use the provided form or include at a minimum all content from approved form. All respondents must be asked the same questions Exact responses must be recorded as presented

15 Step Three: Select the Sample Determine the population Determine the sample size Select the survey group How to replace families that cannot be surveyed –Non-responsive –Unreachable Mail or Door to Door – at least 2 attempts Telephone – at least 3 attempts

16 Step Four: Conduct the Survey Advance notice of survey is critical DO NOT bias the results Interviewer must follow process Survey etiquette must be followed Turn surveys over to the tabulator Each survey needs to be reviewed and edited for completeness and accuracy

17 Confidentiality Emphasize that results are confidential Questionnaire should not have respondents name, address or phone number Unique identifier should be used

18 Step Five: Analyze the Results The Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs requires all income surveys that are conducted to determine CDBG eligibility, be certified by an uninterested third party with the appropriate educational background and technical expertise.

19 Step Five: Analyze the Results Analysis Consistency Checks –Margin of Error –Compare to LMISD data –Random sample check

20 What if its less than 51% Applicant may not apply for projects using the National Objective of Benefit to Low and Moderate Income Persons – Area Wide

21 Step Six: Document Results Description of Service Area Population list used to select sample and how it was determined Description of process used to determine sample (i.e., random number generator) How and why members of selected sample were replaced

22 Step Six: Document Results Completed surveys Sample listing with unique identifiers for verification All documents must be available at monitoring A minimum of 10% of surveys completed each year will be audited by University of Southern Indiana

23 Lifespan of an Income Survey How long is the income survey good? What if there are significant changes? Surveys may be used more than once for the exact same service area

24 Challenges 1.Transient rental populations 2.Residents don’t have land lines 3.Local utility records 4.People don’t read newspaper 5.Property tax rolls

25 Techniques 1.Pr ing GIS 4.Utilities

26 Contact Information Kathleen Weissenberger Director, Grant Services Division IN Office of Community and Rural Affairs One North Capitol, Suite 600 Indianapolis, IN Tel: (317)