Interviewer Instructions - 1975 Graduate Follow-Up COR703 Background of the Study In the spring of 1957, Professor J. Kenneth Little of the School of Education, University of Wisconsin, directed a survey of all high school seniors in the State of Wisconsin. Almost all public and private high schools took part in the survey. Approximately 36,000 seniors were given a four page questionnaire in which they were asked about their high school academic program, their aspirations for further education, future occupation, and marriage, and their perceptions as to how these aspirations may have been influenced by their family, teachers, and friends. The results of the 1957 survey were used to help in planning the growth of facilities for post-high school education in Wisconsin during the 1960's. The original questionnaires and data were turned over to Professor William H. Sewell of the Sociology Department in 1962. Professor Sewell has used the 1957 survey data and later additions to study the social and psychological factors which influence the development of educational and occupational plans. Also, he has studied those factors which help or prevent people from carrying out their plans. His investigations have led to more than forty research publications, dealing with such questions as the effectiveness of different high schools and colleges and equality of opportunity in schools and jobs between social classes and between the sexes. Among social scientists, the Wisconsin study is recognized as an important resource, for nowhere else does there exist such a large and representative sample of persons for whom there are good data covering the post high school years. Dr. Sewell selected a one-third (12,000 persons) random sample of the respondents in the 1957 survey for further research. This group is the sample for the present study. In 1964, seven years after the subjects had completed high school, a follow-up study was conducted. A mail-back post card was sent to the respondent's parents which asked about his or her post-high school education, occupation, marital status, and 1964 mailing address. Thus, each person you will call completed a questionnaire while in high school, and almost all of their parents returned a post card to us in 1964. In most cases, the information which enabled us to obtain a present address and telephone number came from the 1964 post card; occasionally, we used information from the 1957 questionnaire. We used this information along with telephone directory searches to contact a parent, other relative, employer, or friend, who gave us the respondent's present address and telephone number. The goal of the current survey, under the direction of Professor William H. Sewell and Professor Robert M. Hauser, is to follow up this group approximately 18 years after they left high school, when the respondents are in their mid-thirties. This interview is much more extensive than the two previous efforts. With this follow up study, we hope to find out more about the effects of such factors as education, social background, and career contingencies (e.g., schooling interruptions, marriage, divorce, having children, military service, etc.) on such variables as education, occupation, geographical migration, and participation in various activities and organizations. While the survey asks for information in a number of different areas, there is still a primary interest in the causes and effects of youth's aspirations-including aspirations for their children--and of their participation in different kinds of post-high school education. Information about these relationships will be of great help in planning educational developments so that schools can better meet the needs of students and the community. This survey is supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, which has funded the research continuously for the past 12 years. All information given by the respondents will be held in confidence. It will be used only in statistical analyses where the identity of persons is not revealed. 2. GENERAL OBJECTIVES A. ACCURACY Throughout this interview we ask primarily for factual data and we want to emphasize the importance of obtaining as much accurate data as possible. This places the responsibility of detailed probing upon you. It is really a matter of common sense, being alert and seeing that the information your respondent gives, answers the questions you have asked. The dates at which events occurred are extremely important in this study. Our experience and pretest results indicate that respondents will be able to accurately recall ALMOST all the dates we ask for. In the few instances where there is some difficulty with recall, allow the respondent enough time to try to recall. If he or she cannot be certain, push for an estimated date and give us a marginal note that this was estimated. B. WORDING OF QUESTIONS Almost all of the questions in this survey have been used successfully in other surveys. It is very important that our data be obtained in exactly the same way as in these other surveys. That means asking the same question in the same way with the same response alternatives and the same codes. Some questions--as they are worded--could be improved BUT we did not change the wording in order to insure comparability with questions in other surveys. Please ask each question as it is written, even if it would be easy for you to improve it. C. EDITING We realize you will be writing fast when you are on the phone but it is equally important to edit well after the interview is completed. This includes insuring your writing is legible. This may seem like a simple point but we feel it necessary to remind you. D. OCCUPATION AND INDUSTRY If we had to pick out one most important type of information in this study, it would be the information about people's jobs and the places where they work. When we ask about a job, we usually do it with a set of five questions: (1) "What kind of work were you doing?" (2) "What were your most important activities or duties?" (3) "What kind of business or industry was this?" (4) "Was this mainly manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, or something else?" (5) A question asking whether R works for a private business or individual, the government, or is self-employed? The responses to these questions will be coded into the U. S. Census Bureau's 7-digit occupational code. Basically, the 7-digit code is composed of 3 separate component codes which uniquely identify most of the occupations found in the United States. The three component codes are for: (1) Occupational title (2) The industry in which the job is located (3) Class of work (i.e., private, government, or self-employed) We will now describe in some detail exactly what kind of answers we need for each of these questions. The first two questions provide us with the first component code-occupational title. In the response to the first question, "What kind of work were you doing?", we usually obtain an occupation name or title, e.g., electrical engineer, stock clerk, farmer. However, responses of this type are rarely specific enough to uniquely assign one of the hundreds of occupational titles. Therefore, we ask, "What are your most important activities or duties?". Here we want to know, what tasks does R perform, and with what product, materials, or service does R perform this task. A few examples may help illustrate what we need to know. Suppose R says that R is a "factory worker" and that R "works on the assembly line." This is unacceptable because there are hundreds of occupations which fit this description. You would have to probe to find out what R does on the assembly line. Does R rivet, operate a machine, assemble, inspect, or what? You would also need to find out with what material R works, television, plastic toys, automobiles, cloth dolls, or what? Or suppose R says that R "works in electronics". This is unacceptable because electronics is an industry not an occupation. It would be necessary for you to probe to find out what task R performs and with what object R performs this task. For example, does R operate electronic computers, solder circuits in radios on an assembly line, repair television sets, or what? As another example, suppose R said R was a foreperson. In this case we would have to know what kind of work R supervises, that is, what is the task of the man he supervises, and with what object do they perform that task. Also, if the people R supervises operate a machine, we need to know what kind of machine... such as a lathe, milling machine, drill press, sewing machine, etc. The next two questions, "What kind of business or industry was this?" and "Was this mainly manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, or something else?", provide us with the industry title. Here we want to find out what type of company (not the name of the company R worked for, or the nature of the product or service which the respondent's work provided. Suppose R said R worked for Dupont. This would be unacceptable because it is just the name of a company and Dupont makes many products. You would have to probe to find out what Dupont makes at the particular facility where R works. Or if the respondent said R was in the retail sales industry, this would be unacceptable because we need to know what R's company sells. Push the respondent to be as specific as possible. For example, if R works at a company that manufactures or sells automotive parts, we really need to know what these parts are and what they are made of. The final question provides information about the class of worker. Thus we want to find out whether R, (1) works for a private company, business, or individual for wages, salary, or commission, (2) was a government employee, (3) was self-employed in own business, professional practice, or farm, or (4) works without pay in a family business or farm. Also, if R were self-employed we want to find out whether R's business is incorporated. As you can see, the responses to these five questions must be complete if we are to be able to accurately code occupations. Therefore, if you are unsure whether or not a particular response is satisfactory, be safe and probe for more details. If you think the response is incomplete, but R does not know anymore details, please note that on the schedule. It will save us unnecessary call-backs. E. PRECODES Throughout the schedule you will see blanks for occupation, industry and class of worker precodes. This does not concern you as an interviewer. 3. OUESTION-BY-OUESTION OBJECTIVES Please note that we have provided space on the bottom of the "Screening Sheet" (Questions A - F) for Sample Number (#) AND ID. Number. Both of these are important for the identification purposes. C4. PLEASE NOTE ERROR IN SKIP DIRECTIONS! If R was a high school senior in Wisconsin, SKIP TO QUESTION D...NOT QUESTION E. Q-2 Check "YES", if R has a high school diploma irrespective of the method by which R received it; e.g., military, correspondence school, etc. Q-3 By "regular student", we mean a student who is enrolled, either full-time or part-time, in a formal program of studies, that is, who is working toward an academic degree or certificate. Do not include business, vocational technical training or apprenticeships. A "NO" response would be appropriate for those who (1) never attended any type of college, or (2) have taken a few courses in college, but never enrolled in a program leading to a degree. Q-3b Remember we are interested in haw many years are completed, --NOT how many years R attended. If R asks for a definition of "Year of School", we are interested in an academic year, or its equivalent. When someone attends on a part-time basis, we need to convert that to R's number of academic years of school completed. Q-6 The criteria for a "YES" response are the same as in Q-3, except this question refers specifically to the present time. All of the people who are asked this question have completed less than one year of college. For those who respond "NO", we want to consider high school as their highest level of school completed for the purposes of Q-11. Therefore, we refer to the CHECK ITEM in Q-3. Q-9 This is a question which the interviewer does not ask but has to make a determination from information given in Q7 and Q7a. By graduate or professional degree, the Respondent would have to have more than 4 years of college or more than a Bachelor's degree. A graduate or professional degree would be such things as a Masters, PHD, MD, LLB, JD, etc. This question always implies academic level work beyond usual 4 yr degrees. Q-10 The criteria for a "YES" response are the same as in Q-3, except this refers to the present time. Q-11 This is the first time we are asking about occupation. lld Refer to the General Objectives, Section D. Q-lle We want the date on which R started this job--even if it was begun part-time before R completed school. However, if there were interruptions, we would want to know the last time R began the job. If R actually started this job before completing his highest level of school, remember that "this job", means the SAME duties and the SAME employer. Q-13 Refer to Q-lle objective. Q-14 We have provided a supplemental sheet (yellow) for programs in excess of three. Here we mean a formal program, not just a collection of non-related courses. Q-15 picks up the additional programs or courses. Use your best judgment as to whether the programs and courses belong in Q-14 or Q-15. Placement in Q-14 or Q-15 is not critical as long as you record the programs in one or the other so that we have the information. Q-14b Probe if not clear what was learned. 15b Q-14d Probe if it is not clear who the sponsoring organization 15d is. Q-14d Will only be asked if the training was not taken in school or on the job. Q-15d Where was that? --- means more than just the city but implies the sponsoring organization. Q-16 Any person in the Reserves or National Guard would automatically have spent at least 2 months on active duty for training. Q-16a Enlisted category--means enlisted in the regular services. Each boxed answer choice is a separate method of entering the armed forces. Even though you enlist in the Reserves or National Guard, this is different than enlisting in the Army, Navy, or Marines in the regular service. Q-16b We should have continued the line under before you first entered to include the word active. The date we want here is not when the Respondent signed up for Reserves but when R first participated in active duty for 2 months or more. Q-16i The date we are looking for is R's last separation from active service which lasted 2 months or more. We do not want the date when R might be called up for special riot control work or summer training for the Reserves or National Guard Duty. What we really want is the separation from long term--2 months or more--active duty --- not necessarily complete separation from the service for the people in the Reserves or National Guard. Q-16j We need to know rank and branch of service, e.g., Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy, or Coast Guard. Again, we can not emphasize enough "you must!' remember to write in the Branch of Service. If the R gives you letters and numbers as a Rank-please ask R what they mean and write it down. Q-18 Refer to General Objectives Section D. March 1970 is simply an arbitrary date selected. It is roughly 5 years ago. If R changed jobs in the middle of March 1970, or had more than one job at a time, let him or her decide which was most important. Remember we only want to describe ONE job in Q-18-l8e. Q-19 Read only the question, not the response alternatives. If R gives two answers, mark only the one nearest the top of the list. (WK) Mark "WK" for a person who was working for pay or profit or without pay on a family business or farm. (J) With a job but not at work. This response is appropriate if a person was temporarily absent from a job or business for such reasons as illness, vacation, bad weather, labor dispute, temporary layoff, etc. This response is NOT appropriate if a person is on call to work whenever there is need for his services (e.g., substitute school teacher, substitute mailman, and cooks and waitresses on call with a catering service). During the periods these people are not actually working, classify them either as (LK) "looking for work", or (OT) "other" depending upon how they answer the question. (LK) Looking. The phrase "looking for work", means a person is trying to get work, or trying to establish a business or profession. (H) Keeping House. This response applies to a person primarily occupied with their own home housework or the care of their children. It applies if this would have been a persons' chief activity except for their own temporary illness or temporary absence from home. It also applies even if the person didn't do the housework physically but managed others in doing the work. (S) Going to school. This response applies to a person if they spent most of their time attending any kind of public or private school including trade or vocational school. This would apply even if the person was absent because of temporary illness or vacation. (U) Unable to work. This response applies to a person who, because of their own long-term physical or mental illness or disability is unable to do any kind of work. The disability must be something specific, not a combination of minor disabilities that normally come with advanced age. Remember, a person must be unable to do any kind of work for this response to be appropriate. If R expects to be able to work within 6 months, do not count him or her as unable to work. (R) Retired. This response applies if R reports him or herself as "retired". If R says that R is semi-retired (i.e., is working shorter hours) the correct response is (WK). (OT) Other. Examples of activities which would fall under this category are: (1) taking it easy, (2) working without pay for a neighbor, or (3) volunteer work. Q-19 By now you all know what a key question this is and how many times you refer back to it. Only check ONE category. If R mentions more than one thing, always check the highest one on the chart--working-being the top priority. Remember we do not READ the chart to the Respondent. Respondent is only exposed to the question as it is worded. As you proceed through the schedule you may find that a different category on the chart would have been more appropriate but we DO NOT want you to go back and change it. Q-20 The important thing is to follow the directions carefully 27 and ask each question exactly as written. Q-21c Wages or salary means exactly that. It would not include unemployment compensation or benefits from a union strike fund, etc. Q-22d Do NOT count the time a person spends looking for work while employed at another job. The number of weeks should represent the present continuous period of looking for work. Consider a period of 2 weeks or more of employment or not looking for work as breaking the continuity of the present period of looking for work. Q-23 If R questions "full-time", define it as 35 hours or more a week. Q-24 This is a hypothetical question and really means is there any reason R could not have taken a job last week if R had been offered one. Q-28 See General Objectives, Section D. Q-28d (and all other similar questions on work history) BUSINESS OR INDUSTRY-We must have complete, specific information. For example: Restaurant--is it a plain restaurant caf‚, supper club, bar and grill, and is it in a hotel, motel, or resort. Recreation--would never be enough of a description. Would it be a public golf course, or a private swim club and pool, etc. Education--is not enough. We need the type of school, the grade level and subject matter. Government--we need the level which is the city, county, state, or federal, as well as the department, or branch such as, post office, police dept., Food & Drug Administration, etc. Q-29 The "there" in this question refers Q-28b. Q-30 These hours do not have to add up to the number of hours 32 worked. They may be more or less. Q-42 Be sure when you are reading this question that you enunciate clearly as the words "very" and "fairly" may sound alike. Q-43 Refers to R's present or most recent job. Q-46 Is poorly worded and we should have provided for DID. You can never get a zero (0) as an acceptable answer. This refers to the most recent job R has or had and that time period. Q-51 Last year means the calendar year of January through December 1974. We want to know the total number of weeks worked even if R only worked a few hours in some weeks. Q-57 If same as current or last job is checked, please verify Q-57a-Q-57c with Q-28a, Q-28d and Q-28e. Q-58 These questions dealing with income are important. They are part of the 60 usual demographic information we ask on most studies in order to interpret results. If R is unsure, ask for an approximate figure. If R refuses, explain confidentiality, ask one more time, then go on. Q-58 Wages and salary refer to total pay, not just take home pay. It includes commissions tips and bonuses. It does NOT include "pay in kind", or expense accounts. It does NOT include unearned income such as dividends, interest, welfare, unemployment compensation, etc. Q-58 Each of these questions are separate types of income. If 59&60 you suspect that the Respondent has given you the SAME information in two places, please clarify it with him. For example: In Q-58, a business man who owns his own business may give you an answer like $20,000. If he gives you this same figure in Q-59, be sure he isn't thinking of the same thing. He could in Q-58 have drawn a salary from his business and in Q-59 he could have also drawn additional money from his own business or all his income could be reflected in Q-59 only. Because these same questions are also asked of the spouse in Q-103, Q-104, Q-105 and are exactly like these except ... are asked of the spouse's income ... Be sure there is not an overlap by listing the same amount of money for both the Respondent and the Respondent's spouse. If for example, a wife is in a business partnership with her husband only the Respondent's share of the business should be reflected in Q-59. The spouses share of that business would be reflected in Q-104. If the Respondent doesn't split up the income from the business or the farm, be sure you make a marginal note so we know exactly what your figures represent. Q-61 In Q-61 if "YES" is checked, all Q's 62 thru 64 refer to R's father. If "NO" is checked, all Q's 62 - 64 refer to the individual recorded as head in Q-61a. Q-62 Refer to General Objectives Section D. In this series R is 62d reporting about a job other than his own. Probe for as much detail as possible. If R just does not know, indicate this. Q-65 This refers to R's father. If multiple origins are mentioned, record them in the order given. This question really is unique to the Respondent's biological father. Q-68a See objective for Q's - 62 - 62d. 68e Q-69 R may find this difficult to answer accurately but give R time and encourage R to make a guess if R does not know. "Family" in this question means the respondent's household as it existed when he/she was a high school senior. If R asks, the actual dollar amount should be in 1957 dollars, NOT its equivalent in today's dollars. Q-77 Be sure that the Respondent lists the living brothers and sisters in the correct order according to their age Q-79 We will paste a selection table on each blank interview schedule. It will be important for you to use the schedules in the order in which they are stacked. Q-80 These deal with the selected sibling. Once you have used the Selection Table and determined a sibling, he/she is the ONLY sibling we want to discuss. If R either doesn't know about him or her, or doesn't want to talk about him or her, DO NOT PUSH HARD--under no condition should you substitute information about another sibling. Q-87 We need the address to help find the respondent in another 10 years. Also, this will be a population from which a small sample of brothers and sisters will be selected for a short interview. The purpose of this interview will be to check the accuracy of our data on the resemblance of persons from the same family. Q-88 If R does not remember, ask for a guess. 92 Q-93a We want the first and last names. The important thing is that these friends were seniors in 1957 in R's school. They cannot be juniors, in a different school, or out of school. Q-102 Refer to General Objectives, Section D. 102d Q-103 Same objectives as Q-58-Q-60. 105c Q-109 Refer to objectives Q-62-Q-62d. 109d Q-109- Ask about "head" other than father if "NO" is checked in 110 Q-108 Q-117 If R asks, number of children includes live births, not adopted children or spouse's children from a previous marriage, even if adopted by R. Q-118 You may list adopted as well as biological children if R gives their names. Please note if child is adopted. Q-119 See objective for Q-79. Q-120 The categories in the question represent academic levels of schooling. Use the "other" to write in vocational training. A Respondent who would like their child to go to 2 years of business college should not have "some college" checked but should have "2 years business college" written in the other category. Q-120- If R says, "Don't Know", or "Doesn't Care", probe only 123 once, then go on to the next question. Q-125 In the description of the period in columns "0" and "I", we have put "first" in parenthesis. This word "first" is only to be read when she has had more than one marriage. Q-125a When you read this question for (DESCRIBE PERIOD) substitute the appropriate words from the column heading. For example under column "0", you would read "about the period before your marriage, did you work at all then?" As another example under column "2", you would read question 125a in the following way: "About the period between your first and second births, did you work at all then?" Q-125b The reading of Q-125b is similar to Q-125a where you substitute appropriate words from the column heading for (BEGINNING OF PERIOD). For example under column "l", you would read, "How soon did you start working after your marriage?" Q-125c Similar again to Q-125a and b, you would substitute appropriate words from the column heading for (END OF PERIOD). For example under column "1", you would read, "How long was it before your first birth, when you stopped working?" Q-125d-h Refer to General Objectives Section D. Remember we can only talk about one job -- respondent's longest job during the time period. Q-125m-n If R now says child was adopted, write in "adopted" and continue with next column. Q-128 Same as Q-125d - h objectives.