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Abstract
The organization sponsoring a survey data collection may affect respondents’ willingness to respond. USDA’s
National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) has begun asking agricultural establishments questions during
ongoing surveys about respondents’ knowledge and attitudes about NASS. These questions were asked of both
respondents and non-respondents to the surveys, and clearly showed a correlation between respondents’
knowledge and attitudes toward NASS and their willingness to cooperate when contacted by NASS.
Past burden (number, length, complexity, frequency of contacts, etc.) imposed by NASS was also measured and
found to have little correlation with survey cooperation. It was hypothesized that increased contacts may provide
opportunities for public relations and help foster more positive attitudes towards the survey sponsor. If increases
in burden create more positive opinions of the survey sponsor, this may offset expected declines in
cooperativeness as burden increases. However, little relationship was found between respondents’ attitudes
toward NASS and the past burden imposed on them.