Survey of Prison Inmates Questionnaire Crosswalk Tool

1. ABOUT THE SPI QUESTIONNAIRE CROSSWALK TOOL

The questionnaire for the Survey of Prison Inmates (SPI) covers a variety of topics and includes many questions. The SPI Questionnaire Crosswalk Tool enables users to easily identify the topics covered in the survey and scroll within those sections for specific questions of interest. The tool also allows users to learn about how the content of the survey and reference periods may have changed over the years, by mapping questions asked in the 2016 survey to those asked in the 1997 and 2004 surveys.

Using the question table presented in the tool, users can toggle through each section of the SPI questionnaire to examine across question number, question text, question type, and response options. The tool also provides users with the ability to download results for specific questions of interest or all questions included in the tool.

The SPI is a cross-sectional survey of the state and sentenced federal prison populations that is conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) periodically. Its primary objective is to produce national statistics on these populations across a variety of topics. (Click here for more information on the SPI.)
 

2. INTERPRETING QUESTION RESULTS AND CAUTION ABOUT COMPARING ESTIMATES

While the tool displays a question table that allows users to review questions across three iterations of the SPI, users should proceed with caution when determining if the questions are suitable to compare estimates of the questions or constructs across the survey years. Question characteristics, such as question wording and response options, may appear to be comparable in the tool across survey years. However, the structure of the survey for some topics has changed over the years.

Before analyzing the survey data to generate estimates of questions or constructs across survey years, users should review the full questionnaires for the specific years of interest to learn about the routing of the questions. The routing in the survey determined which respondents and subpopulations were asked particular questions. If the routing for a particular question or construct changed over the years, the subpopulation that was asked the question(s) could have changed as a result. Those routing changes could impact survey estimates across years if the routing is not appropriately accounted for in the analysis.
 

3. QUESTION TABLE

The tool displays a question table after selections are made from the Section and Question options in the selector navigation. The options listed in the Question selector navigation represent questions asked of respondents in the 2016 survey. Some sections of the survey included introductory statements that were numbered in the survey for purposes of administering it, but those statements are not included as options in the Question selector navigation. (PH9 is an example of one of those statements: PH9: The next questions are about difficulties that you might have due to a physical, mental, or emotional problem.)
 

To navigate to other questions in the tool use the Previous Section Question and Next Section Question options that appear above and below the question table.

If more than one question table appears for a specific Section and Question selection, that means that more than one question in the 1997 and/or 2004 survey is similar to the 2016 question, most likely due to changes in the structure or routing of the survey.

Question number

Represents the question number, as defined in the SPI questionnaire.

Some series of questions from Section 2 – Criminal Justice (CJ) of the 2016 SPI questionnaire include an “inmate type” label under the question number in this tool. 

Represents the verbatim text of the question, as defined in the SPI questionnaire. 

If a question in the 1997 and/or 2004 SPI covered the same or similar content as a 2016 question, then those 1997 and/or 2004 questions appear in the table of results that is presented in the tool for the 2016 question, with one exception. Some questions on prior criminal history from the 1997 and 2004 questionnaires are not reflected in this tool, such as the number of times a respondent was sentenced to serve time in different types of correctional facilities, the respondent’s age at first admission, and the timing of the respondent’s first admission. 

The criminal history section of the 2016 SPI was redesigned to streamline the collection of criminal history data compared to the 1997 and 2004 questionnaires, which relied on an event history calendar. Mapping one 2016 question to its counterpart in the 1997 and/or 2004 questionnaires would require numerous tables of information for 1997 and/or 2004 that would be difficult to understand and utilize. The complexities of the criminal history sections in the 1997 and 2004 questionnaires require an advanced approach to map to the appropriate 2016 questions that users would easily digest. In Section 2 – Criminal Justice (CJ) of this tool, while questions CJ46-CJ53 from the 2016 SPI have no information presented for 1997 or 2004, the constructs were measured in those years through various questions and sections of the event history calendars. 

Question type

Represents the type of question, as defined in the SPI questionnaire. Options include—

• Select one
• Select multiple
• Integer
• Date
• Text
• Other
  • Used when more than one question type is represented in the response options, such as for a yes/no response (select one) that required a number (integer) to be entered if the response was “yes”. 
  • Response options that include one question type, such as select one, with an option to specify with more detail using a text response are not coded as other. This type of example is coded as select one for the question type.
     

Response options

Represents the response options of the question, such as “yes” or “no”. Response options vary across questions.
 

4. DOWNLOAD OPTIONS

The tool provides users with two options to download their results. The Download All button below the selector navigation on the left allows users to export all question data in the tool.

The Download button below the question table on the right will export the question-specific data.
 

5. FOR QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SPI QUESTIONNAIRE CROSSWALK TOOL

The tool is best viewed with Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox. Though the tool has been optimized for viewing on computers and tablets, the tool can be used on a mobile device. A user's screen resolution may affect the display of content.

Please direct any questions about the SPI Questionnaire Crosswalk Tool to [email protected] and include "SPI Questionnaire Crosswalk Tool" in the subject line of the email.

Inquiries can also be directed to the BJS main number at (202) 307-0765 or by mail to—

Bureau of Justice Statistics
U.S. Department of Justice
999 N. Capitol Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20531
ATTN: SPI Questionnaire Crosswalk Tool
 

6. HOW TO CITE RESULTS FROM THE SPI QUESTIONNAIRE CROSSWALK TOOL

When publishing results from BJS's SPI Questionnaire Crosswalk Tool in any form, the recommended citation is—

Bureau of Justice Statistics. Generated using the SPI Questionnaire Crosswalk Tool at spi-crosswalk.bjs.ojp.gov. Report generated (Insert date generated).

Please use the following information when citing the SPI Questionnaire Crosswalk Tool—

Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
Tool title: SPI Questionnaire Crosswalk Tool
Data source: BJS, Survey of Prison Inmates (SPI), [Insert as applicable “1997”, “2004”, “2016”]
Generated: [Insert date here]