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Language Capabilities <br />We provide multicultural research strategies as appropriate. We find the literal <br />translation of English instrumentation to be insufficient, and we emphasize the <br />development of linguistically and culturally appropriate research instruments and <br />methods. We regularly conduct research in the Latino and Vietnamese communities, and <br />have conducted surveys in Korean, Cambodian, Armenian; Tagalog, and Mandarin. Our <br />university setting allows us to access the linguistic a11d cultural expertise of members of <br />many raciaUethnic acid national groups. The Cal State Fullerton campus affords access to <br />abroad range of faculty expertise and student perspectives, representing many etlnlic <br />backgrounds and heritages. <br />Translated survey instruments are programmed into Ci3 scripting software that interfaces <br />with the CATI system. This allows interviewers conducting English and non-English <br />language sur<~eys to read the questions on the screen and type verbatim responses into the <br />CATI system. Procedures for handling these open-ended text responses are discussed in <br />Appendix B. <br />Sample Design <br />A confidence interval for survey data refers to the level of precision required for <br />estimates of population parameters based upon sample data. A generally accepted <br />statldard for policy-relevant research is a confidence interval of plus or minus five <br />percent. When this standard is met, we can be 95% confident that the true population <br />parameter lies within an interval extending five percent above and below any proportion <br />derived from survey (sample) data. A population paranieter is the result one would <br />obtain if all universal access customers were interviewed. <br />Sampling error, as indexed by the confidence interval around reported proportions, varies <br />in relation to sample size and to the variability of survey responses (among other factors). <br />In general, as the sample grows larger; the confidence interval grows narrower. That is, <br />inferences about population parameters based upon larger samples are more precise (are. <br />associated with narrower confidence intervals) than inferences based upon smaller <br />samples. <br />Also, as the proportion of soiree attribute in the sample (e.g. overall satisfaction with the <br />Santa Ana WORK Center) approaches afifty/ fifty split, (say, 50% are dissatisfied and <br />50% are satisfied) sampling en-or increases, resulting in a wider confidence interval. <br />Conversely, sampling error decreases as the proportion of a given attribute approaches a <br />five/ ninety-five split, (5% are dissatisfied and 95% are satisfied) resulting in a more <br />precise estimate and a narrower confidence interval. <br />Assuming a population of unique Universal Access customers of roughly 5,000 in the <br />program year under study, the table on the following page depicts the required sample <br />sizes for three confidence intervals: 1) Calculated leniently, that is, based upon the <br />6 <br />25N-32 <br />