From paper to EQ: Impact of introducing a new collection mode in a business survey

Abstract

The Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH) is a monthly business survey conducted by Statistics Canada that produces estimates of levels for variables such as employment, earnings and hours at detailed industrial levels for Canada, the provinces and territories. To improve the efficiency of collection activities for this survey, an electronic questionnaire (EQ) was introduced in the fall of 2012. Given the timeframe allowed for this transition and the production calendar of the survey, a conversion strategy of units from paper questionnaires to EQ was developed. The goal of the strategy was to ensure a good adaptation of the collection environment and also to allow the implementation of a plan of analysis that would evaluate the impact of this change on the results of the survey. This paper will give an overview of the conversion strategy implemented as well as the results of various evaluations that were conducted. For example, the impact of the integration of the EQ on the collection process, the response rate and the failed edit follow-up rate will be presented. In addition, the results of a randomized experiment that was conducted in order to determine the presence of a mode effect will be discussed.