Online Program

Managing Response Burden in Business Surveys and Minimizing Its Negative Perception by Respondents (307997)

Keywords: Data Collection, Business Surveys, Statistcal Burden

Statistics Portugal’s modernization is based on an integrated system, supporting the whole production chain. An internet data collection channel is a corner stone, representing a single point to electronic data collection, reducing the burden, the costs, and improving the relationship with respondents. Efforts to measure and manage the actual and perceived statistical burden are implemented, such as: the use of administrative data; an XML Automated Data Transmission service; improved framing techniques to reduce samples as well as estimation methods. Voluntary piggyback burden questionnaires are used to measure the burden, and the high response rates show a broad acceptance of this measurement instrument. The instrument collects data on the difficulty to complete a questionnaire, the people involved, the total time spent, and also the perceived relevance of statistics produced by Statistics Portugal. By combining burden data with other indicators, businesses are profiled, identifying priority surveys to be simplified. The burden questionnaire is now a regular tool that will be continuously covering all business surveys by 2020. Also, personalized feedback reports are produced for each company, combining individual and aggregate information. A self-service approach has been designed, expecting to evolve into dynamically generated reports.