Question: About 6:30 p.m. one day, a man came to my door saying he was from the Census Bureau collecting information about how many people lived in the house, their age, race and health. He showed me his badge, but I did not look at it long because the porch was dark. I told him I was not interested and also told him someone had come before. Is this legitimate?

Answer: We can’t give you a definitive answer because you did not provide any details or contact information.

However, it’s not unusual for the U.S. Census Bureau to be conducting door-to-door interviews year-round.

Most Americans likely associate the Census Bureau with its decennial survey taken in years ending in “0.” But the reality is that it conducts a variety of censuses and surveys with households and businesses “every month, quarter and year,” said a spokeswoman with the Bureau’s Los Angeles Region, which is responsible for the surveys in Hawaii.

The American Community Survey is the largest of the ongoing surveys, involving nearly 3.5 million households each year. It covers 40 topics, including employment, language spoken at home, education, health insurance and housing costs. (See www.census.gov/survey_participants/ for other surveys.)

In an email, the spokeswoman said trained field representatives and telephone interviewers conduct a variety of household surveys by telephone, in-person interviews, through the mail and on the Internet.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Here’s how to help determine whether the survey is legitimate, she said:

>> Any request for survey information will be clearly identified as “official business” coming from the Census Bureau. It is a federal offense to pretend to represent the bureau.

>> You may receive a letter from the bureau notifying you that in a few days your household will receive a questionnaire in the mail, a phone call or a visit.

The letter will tell you whether participation is mandatory or voluntary, and that your responses are confidential and protected by law. Participants are randomly selected.

Letters will be sent in advance only if there is a good mailing address; not receiving a letter does not mean you will not receive a visit.

However, if you haven’t received a letter, you can ask to verify that the survey is legitimate. The representative will provide the phone number of the regional office where staff can verify the survey and questioner.

>> A Census Bureau employee who comes to your home will show a bureau identification badge; tell you the name of the survey; provide a copy of the notification letter you received or should have received; tell you how long the survey will take, why the information is important and how the confidentiality of your answers is protected.

The representative may carry a laptop or hand-held computer to enter responses directly into the computer.

If someone from the Census Bureau has visited you and you have questions, you can write to the Los Angeles Regional Office, 15350 Sherman Way, Suite 400, Van Nuys, CA 91406; call 818-267-1700 or 800-992-3530; fax 818-267-1711; or email Los.Angeles.Regional. Office@census.gov.

Asked if someone who has been interviewed can refuse the second time, the spokeswoman said, “The Census Bureau is not in the business of prosecuting noncompliance, but facilitating participation.

Research has demonstrated our surveys enjoy very high rates of participation when we explain to reluctant respondents the importance of the questions we ask and how the information benefits our communities.”

That said, she said respondents can contact the regional office and ask to be taken off the survey list.

MAHALO

To the young ladies who found and guarded my purse while waiting for security at the Honolulu Airport baggage claim area ladies’ restroom last month. I discovered it was missing while getting my luggage. What a relief to find my purse intact. They would not accept any reward. May their kindness be returned to them many times. — L. Suzuki

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Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.