The Census Bureau is required by law to inform respondents of their rights to privacy which are codified by the Privacy Act of 1974 (Title 5, U.S. Code Section 552a). Staff from the Census Bureau’s Policy Coordination Office (PCO) requested that Center for Behavioral Science Methods (CBSM) test the Privacy Act notification language to analyze whether the language was clear and easy to understand for respondents. In addition to testing Privacy Act notification language, this report also includes findings from testing additional content that includes: 1) language required by the Paperwork Reduction Act, 2) the Census Bureau’s Confidentiality Pledge, and 3) messages about immigration enforcement, confidentiality, and data use.
Between September 2017 and March 2018, CBSM staff in conjunction with the Economic Directorate’s Data Collection Methodology & Research Branch conducted 62 cognitive interviews to test required language and some general messaging around the themes of privacy and confidentiality. The testing included 24 interviews with establishment participants, and 38 with individual household participants (19 in English and 19 in Spanish). This report documents the results and findings from that testing.