Finance
NOTICE
Household Diary Study
The Postal Service'sTM Household
Diary Study (HDS), conducted since 1987, provides information about the
contents of the mail sent and received by U.S. households. The Postal
Service uses this information to help understand why and how customers
use the mail. The results are used to:
• Forecast mail volume.
• Plan marketing strategies.
• Provide information for rate-setting
purposes.
The HDS is administered at Headquarters
by the Office of Demand Forecasting and Economic Analysis, Finance. NuStats,
the HDS survey research firm contractor since July 1999, conducts the
interviews and collects and analyzes the HDS data throughout the year.
HDS is a two-stage survey. Stage
1 is the Household Interview. NuStats sends an advance letter,
signed by the postmaster general, to a representative sample of U.S. households.
This letter emphasizes the importance of the HDS and asks for participation.
These sample households are contacted either by telephone or in person
and asked about the mail they send and receive, their adoption and use
of various communications' technologies, their attitudes about mail service
in general, and information relating to their household and personal demographics.
Those respondent households are recruited to participate in HDS Stage
2.
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Stage 2 is the Mail Diary. NuStats asks households that agree to participate in Stage 2 to record
information about the mail they send and receive for a 7-day period from
Monday to Sunday. Information recorded includes: number of mailpieces
received and sent, industry mail source, mail characteristics, and attitudes
regarding mail received. As an incentive for HDS Stage 2 participation,
households are offered the options of receiving $30 or a roll of 100 First-
Class Mail® stamps.
Customers who participate in Stage
2 of the HDS can expect to receive their incentive about 2 months after
they return the diary packet to NuStats.
Data gathered in both HDS stages
is available in a final report, "The Household Diary Study - Mail
Use and Attitudes." The report is published in hard copy and a free
electronic file. Order forms for the latest HDS report may be obtained
via the Postal Service Internet at www.usps.com/householddiary.
For additional information, contact
either of the following individuals:
John Pickett
Telephone: 202-268-2641
Fax: 202-268-6841
E-mail john.pickett@usps.gov
Greg Dawson
Telephone: 202-268-7446
Fax: 202-268-6841
E-mail gregory.e.dawson@usps.gov
Study participants may also contact
NuStats directly for help or information at 888-441-8777 or usps@nustats.com.
- Office of Demand Forecasting
and Economic Analysis,
Finance, 3-17-05
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