Information for Respondents
The Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) is conducted every three years by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the federal agency that is the headquarters of the nation's central bank. The main purpose of the survey is to help the government and, ultimately, the public at large understand the financial condition of families in the United States and to study the effects of changes in the economy. The data collected in the survey also support a wide variety of research on topics including saving, investment, debt payments, pension coverage, business ownership, use of financial institutions, credit discrimination, and financial markets.
The 2007 survey is expected to be conducted from May through December 2007. The interviewing will be done for the Board of Governors by NORC, a national organization for social science and survey research at the University of Chicago. The NORC website for the SCF provides answers to questions that you, as a potential respondent, may have about the study.
NORC interviewers will attempt to meet in person with everyone selected for the survey to allow potential respondents to ask detailed questions and request supporting material before deciding whether to participate. All interviewers are required to carry an official NORC picture identification card; please ask to see it when the interviewer comes to your door.
Protecting the confidentiality of survey respondents is of paramount importance to NORC and the Federal Reserve. The data collected will be used for statistical purposes only . Such information is strongly protected under the law. Only people who are directly engaged in arranging and conducting interviews are allowed to see the names of the survey respondents. Furthermore, the answers participants give to the survey questions are permanently separated from their names, and the identity of the participants appears nowhere in the study results. At the end of the study, NORC will destroy all the identifying information used in administering the survey. No one at the Federal Reserve is permitted to see the names of the participants.
Potential respondents seeking further clarification are encouraged to use the facilities of NORC (e-mail SCF@norc.org or call the Project Director, Catherine Haggerty, at 312 759 4065) so that their names will not be known to anyone at the Federal Reserve. Potential respondents who wish to contact the Federal Reserve Board for additional information may call the Board’s Office of Public Affairs, at 202-452-2955.
The accuracy of the survey depends on the participation of families from all walks of life so that it will represent the condition of the country as a whole. Thus, participation in the survey, which is completely voluntary, is a unique opportunity for families to help provide the government with an accurate picture of the financial condition of households throughout the United States.
Please read the letter from Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, in which he describes the study and encourages the participation of those who have been selected to take part in it.
Press release: Board begins 2007 Survey of Consumer Finances