The most recent household survey is now available. Click on the following link to view it: http://cari.unl.edu/buffalo/householdsurvey.pdf
A household survey, targeted to new in-migrants arriving in Nebraska 's Panhandle between 2001 and 2006, will be administered to a sample of that population. The sample of new in-migrants will be obtained from a marketing firm such as Experian ( Lincoln , Nebraska ). Many marketing firms sell lists of new movers using consumer data and public deed records. Experian is one of the few firms known to include the household's previous zip code in their database. Thus, it is possible to obtain a list of new movers who moved from outside the Nebraska Panhandle region and exclude new movers who have simply moved within the region. The sample will include both new in-migrants moving from out-of-state as well as those moving from other regions of Nebraska . This sample will allow for comparisons between these two groups to see what differences, if any, exist between their characteristics and motivations for moving to the Panhandle.
The questionnaire will solicit a wide range of information from the new in-migrants including: past and planned moves, reasons for moving, what attracted them to their current residences, current employment and demographic information including employable skills they possess, entrepreneurial interests, and satisfaction with their present community. The development of the questionnaire will utilize a similar survey conducted in Nebraska in 1996 (Cordes et al., 1996). Compensation will be provided to the participants and Dillman's Total Design Method will be used to generate an acceptable response rate (Salant & Dillman, 1994).
Similar surveys of new in-migrants have been conducted across the country. As mentioned earlier, a study of new in-migrants to Nebraska was conducted in 1996. The development of that survey relied heavily on a similar study done at Washington State University (Dillman et al., 1995). The Nebraska study was also replicated in North Dakota in 1997 (Leistritz & Sell, 1998). In those studies, however, the sample of new in-migrants was generated by using names of individuals who had moved to the state and who had subsequently surrendered their previous driver's license for a license in their new state. As acknowledged by the project directors, this sample frame poses a self-selection problem as certain types of in-migrants may not be included (e.g., illegal immigrants, in-migrants who do not own automobiles or those who are not planning to stay for an extended period) (Leistritz et al., 2001). Using a list of new movers obtained from a marketing firm that uses multiple sources for its database should help researchers to obtain a more representative sample of new movers for this study.
This survey will provide the study with a detailed profile of recent in-migrants well as the influences on their decision to relocate. A demographic profile of new residents will help determine the impact of recent in-migration to the region. New in-migrants may impact the demands on schools, health facilities, housing and other social services. They may also bring new leadership capacity and capabilities to the region. In addition to basic demographic characteristics, an assessment of employable skills and entrepreneurial interest will be measured. This will allow the study to assess possible economic impacts created by the new residents. Are jobs being created or filled by new in-migrants? Are new in-migrants starting new businesses? How do they impact the dependency ratio of the community?
In addition to determining who the new in-migrants are, the survey will also provide a better understanding of the influences on their decision to relocate. What was important to them when deciding to move to the Panhandle? What amenities or services were they looking for? Were non-economic, non-employment considerations their primary reason for moving or did they move for economic or employment reasons?
Finally, the survey results will measure new in-migrants' satisfaction levels with their current community. Are they satisfied with the results of their move? Are they participating in community activities? Are they planning to stay in the Panhandle? This information can be used by local leaders to help retain these in-migrants as well as attract new ones.
The information obtained from the survey of new in-migrants will not only be useful to Panhandle leaders, but will be valuable to other leaders in Nebraska as well as other states in the Great Plains . Comparisons between new residents in Nebraska and North Dakota revealed many similarities with regard to demographic characteristics and motivations for moving (Leistritz et al., 2001). Thus, results from this study should be applicable to and utilized by other states in the Great Plains region.
Once the data are gathered, relatively standard procedures will be used for the analysis. Comparisons between the new in-migrants and the existing Panhandle population will be made regarding their demographic characteristics. The motivations for moving will be analyzed using factor analysis. Comparisons of demographic characteristics and motivations for moving between in-migrants moving from out of state and those moving from other regions of Nebraska will be made using cross-tabulations and chi-square tests. Additional analyses will be performed as deemed appropriate for the data collected.
Results from the survey will be used to identify the impacts new in-migrants have had in the Nebraska Panhandle. In addition, results will be used to identify strategies to attract and retain new residents. This information will be applicable to all Great Plains states.
In order to ensure results that can be used across the region, care must be taken during the survey to obtain a representative sample of recent in-migrants to the Panhandle. In order to make accurate estimates based on a sample, four requirements need to be met: a sample that is large enough to yield the desired level of precision, everyone in the population has an equal (or known) chance of being selected for the sample, questions are asked in ways that enable respondents to respond willingly and accurately, and the characteristics of non-respondents are similar to the characteristics of those who do respond (Salant & Dillman, 1994). The first requirement will be met by ordering a sufficiently large sample. The exact number to be surveyed will be determined once it is known how many people moved into the Panhandle during the desired time frame (2001 through 2006). Using a purchased mailing list that is compiled from numerous sources will decrease the potential coverage error discussed in the second requirement. Pretesting the survey instrument before final implementation will determine if questions are appropriately worded. Finally, every effort will be made to achieve a high response rate to insure that all key groups of in-migrants respond to the survey. Offering a token incentive to the respondents and using carefully timed and personalized correspondence following Dillman's Total Design Method are some of the efforts that will be made (Salant & Dillman, 1994).
