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Household Roster
Factor: Economic Success
Age: Teen, Adult
Duration: 3-5 minutes
Reading Level: Less than 6th grade
What
These two or more questions assess household composition and relationships.
Who
The people in a household.
How
INSTRUCTIONS
These questions are administered by interviewer. First, respondents list all the people who live or stay at their address. Then they share what type of relationship they have with each household member, such as spouse, child, uncle, or roommate.
RESPONSE FORMAT
These questions are administered verbally by an interviewer. The questions have different answer formats and can be used individually.
First I need to make a list of all the people who live or stay here at this address.
Don’t forget to include: People who stay here only some of the time, non-relatives who live here, babies, and small children.
Please mention someone even if you’re not sure they should be included. Let’s start with you. What is your name? Please give me the names of everyone else who lives or stays here most of the time.
Record: First, middle, and last name
Ask: Anyone else? (repeat until complete)
Probe: We know we sometimes miss people when it’s not totally clear where they live. Just to make sure, have I missed:
…Anyone who is staying here until they find a place to live?
…Any lodgers, boarders or persons you employ who live here?
…Anyone who may have another place to live, but who stays here often or has some space or a room here?
Record: First, middle, and last name
What is [fill in each name] relationship to you?
Action: Repeat for each name on roster
Why It Matters
Living arrangements and household composition are not, in and of themselves, markers of economic success, but they are strongly correlated with income and poverty. Also, it is essential to have an accurate count of household members and their ages when computing a family’s or household’s poverty status.
HEADS UP
Even with prompting, respondents may miss people who reside in the household part of the time.
SEE ALSO
References
U.S. Census Bureau (2014). 2014 SIPP Production SIPP Public Use Metadata Report. Retrieved from: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/sipp/questionnaires/2008/sipp-2008-panel-wave-01-core-questionnaire.pdf.
