AmeriSpeak Teen Omnibus

The AmeriSpeak® Teen Omnibus is a swift, cost-effective way to survey a representative sample of U.S. teenagers ages 13 to 17.  The AmeriSpeak Teen Omnibus features:

• Real teens! Unlike convenience samples, where anyone claiming to be a U.S. teenager can respond, AmeriSpeak is a probability-based (random) sample of U.S. households scientifically selected and invited to participate. 
• Affordability: a pay-by-the question model makes it easy and cost-effective to reach a population that is ordinarily difficult and expensive to survey.
• Fast results: Quarterly multi-client surveys save considerable time relative to custom teen surveys.
• Assurance: NORC receives advance permission from teens' parents so that we can contact teens directly for each survey.  This also ensures that parents are not responding on a teen’s behalf.

These steps ensure a high-quality sample that you can trust to get your research right.
 

How It Works

• Price: $2,000 per survey question (minimum of five questions)
• Sample size: 1,000 completed interviews
• Schedule: One survey per quarter on a four-week schedule. Clients receive data four weeks after survey questions are due.
• Deliverables:
  • Survey dataset in your preferred format
  • Statistical weights
  • Respondent demographics
  • Banner table
• Non-sensitive questions only

To learn more or get started, email us at AmeriSpeak-BD@norc.org. 
 

Schedule

The AmeriSpeak Teen Omnibus operates once per quarter on a four-week timeline. Questions are due to NORC on the first day of the cycle.  NORC will spend approximately one week programming, testing and obtaining NORC IRB approval; two weeks in the field; and one week cleaning, weighting and preparing the data. Clients receive their data four weeks after questions are due.

Institutional Review Board

NORC’s IRB has approved all procedures for recruiting and consenting teens into the AmeriSpeak Teen Panel, and for contacting AmeriSpeak Teen panelists directly to take surveys with non-sensitive topics.

NORC’s IRB will review and approve each Teen Omnibus questionnaire prior to fielding. 

Clients who have their own IRB (e.g. universities, hospitals) must provide approval documentation from their IRB by the questionnaire deadline.  We require this to avoid delays in fielding that would affect all participating clients.
 

Sensitive and Non-Sensitive Questions

NORC includes only non-sensitive questions in the AmeriSpeak Teen Omnibus. While parents have provided consent for NORC to contact and survey their teens, surveys with sensitive questions require NORC to obtain study-specific parental consent for that survey.  NORC excludes sensitive questions requiring parental consent from the AmeriSpeak Teen Omnibus to keep the speedy pace at which NORC runs surveys. 

Here are some example topics of what NORC deems sensitive and non-sensitive:

• Sensitive: Physical health, mental health and wellbeing, alcohol and drug use, illegal activity, criminal history
• Non-sensitive: Public opinion, consumer habits, media consumption, school and employment, hobbies/sports

If you want to field a survey on sensitive topics, that's no problem.  We can field a custom survey to AmeriSpeak teens with your survey content, seeking study-specific parental consent in advance. Talk with your AmeriSpeak representative or email AmeriSpeak-BD@norc.org to get started or learn more.

Respondent Demographics

The following demographic variables are included in your AmeriSpeak Teen Omnibus survey data file:

Methodology

AmeriSpeak Teen Omnibus surveys are conducted in English and online only. AmeriSpeak is the most scientifically rigorous probability panel of households commercially available in the United States.

Client-provided survey items with “sensitive” content (see above) are not eligible for AmeriSpeak Teen Omnibus. Such items are eligible for standalone custom surveys using AmeriSpeak Teen. 

If NORC cannot complete 1,000 interviews using the AmeriSpeak Teen Panel, NORC will supplement with a non-probability opt-in sample (obtaining study-specific consent from parents/legal guardians) until reaching 1,000 total completed interviews.  NORC will use our proprietary TrueNorth calibration weighting for sample noncoverage and bias correction.
  

How to Get Started

To learn more or get started, email us at AmeriSpeak-BD@norc.org. 

Resources:
AmeriSpeak Teen Panel Technical Overview