Form 1 Protocol

MicroBRDIS Debriefing Interview Protocol - DRAFT

Required Materials

• Copy of questionnaire including information on how the survey was completed (electronically or paper)

• Recording device

Introduction

Points to cover in the introduction:

Introduce all attendees and include brief overview of why the survey exists and role of NSF and Census

Thank respondent for participating in the survey

Tell respondent why we asked to speak with them

• Refine questions and make them easier to answer

• Understand how they developed their answers

Ask about recording the interview: We would like to record this interview so that we have all your comments. Would that be okay? [Have respondents read and sign consent forms.] If respondent says no, move on.

Start Interview

Icebreaker: Can you tell us a little bit about your company and your role within it?

Questions about number of employees

I’d like to start with questions about your company and the people who are part of it. Let’s start with Page 2, second column.

1. Please take a look at Question 6, and in your own words tell us what you thought it was asking for and how you went about answering it.

2. What records, if any, did you consult to answer this question?

3. How did you distinguish between employees and non-employees? Did the reference to a W-2 help you understand where to put employees vs non-employees?

4. Was there anyone you wanted to put in two places? [If yes,] Please tell me more about that individual’s role in your company.

5. Were there people who you initially put in question 6 that you later changed and reported in question 7? What was your thought process behind making that change?

6. [If the respondent answered yes to any part of question 7] Can you please tell me about that person? What is their role in the company and what kind of work they do?

7. Do you feel there are any categories missing from either question 6 or 7? Tell me more about that.

8. [If company answered yes to Question 9 (foreign employees)] Were any of these foreign employees included in your responses to Question 6? If so, where in Question 6?

R&D Questions

Now let’s skip ahead to Section F on page 5.

1. Prior to receiving this survey did you ever use the terms “research and development” or “R&D” to describe any of your company’s activities? [If yes, probe for examples.]

2. Again, prior to receiving this survey how would you have defined “research and development” or “R&D”?

3. Do you recall reading the definition at the top of this page? Please read it now and tell me how it relates to your understanding of R&D.

4. For each item in Question 23: Please tell me in your own words what you think this is describing. Can you think of any examples that may be relevant to your industry? How common would you expect this activity to be in other small companies in your industry?

5. [note where respondent said yes to any part of Question 23] Can you please provide an example of that?

6. Prior to seeing the questionnaire would you have thought that (or those) to be (an) example(s) of R&D?

7. Are there any activities you would consider to be R&D that are not listed in Question 23?

8. How did you determine your answer to question 25? Did you need to consult any records? How accurate do you believe your answer was?

9. In answering question 25, did you include any other costs as R&D other than for those activities reported in Q23? If yes, tell me about them. If no, would you have included additional costs as R&D if the survey instructions would have allowed you to do so?

10. Were any of the R&D costs reported in Q 25 used to pay others outside of your company to perform R&D?

11. How did you determine your answer to question 26? Did you need to consult any records when answering question 26?

12. [If respondent provided an answer for Q26b] what type of equipment did you include as part of your R&D amount?

13. [If respondent provided an answer for Q26c] what type of software purchases did you include as part of your R&D amount?

14. What other costs did you include for question 26? Did you included any capital costs for conducting R&D? [Capital costs can be defined as fixed, one-time expenses incurred on the purchase of land, buildings, construction, and equipment used in the production of goods or in the rendering of services.]

15. Question 27 asks about other entities who paid your company for R&D services. You noted (list off the parts of the questionnaire where the respondent provided an answer), can you please tell me about your agreement or relationship with that entity?

16. Did any of this funding come through a grant? [if yes] Where was the grant from and specifically what was it about?

17. How familiar were you with these categories of R&D in question 28 before responding to this survey? How did you distinguish between the various categories? How did you determine your answers to question 28?

18. How did your responses to question 29 correspond to your answers in question 6?

Now I’d like to show you some alternative questions to what was included on the questionnaire.

Show respondent [Attachment 1 - q25 from MBRDIS and Q1 from R&D module]

1. Which version of the question do you prefer, A or B, and why?

2. When I ask you question B what do you include? Do you include any of these [Show respondent Question C]?

3. Would you report the same amount of R&D costs in answering the question (A or B) on the attachment as you did in Question 25 of the survey?

Financial Information Questions

Now I’d like to ask you a couple of questions about the questions on page 3 of the survey.

1. When answering Question 10, did you need to consult with any records? If yes, which ones?

2. How did you determine your answers to Question 11?

3. Were there any other categories that should have been included in Question 13?

Questions about ECORR

Finally, I want to ask you about a system that is relatively new for administering surveys.

1. (If respondent completed the survey using the paper version) did you attempt to complete the survey online? If yes, continue, if not, go to next section.

2. (If respondent completed the survey using ECORR) – What issues, if any, did you experience creating an account?

3. Had you have known the process, would you have still completed the form electronically?

4. What was your first impression of the ‘security questions’?

5. Did you have any technical issues while completing the survey online?

6. Finally, did you have to call the 1-800 line for assistance with any part of the survey. If so, please describe your experience. 

Attachment – Question A

A) What was the total cost (both direct and indirect) in thousands in 2016 for all the R&D activities you answered “Yes” to in Question 23 (Question 23 is in the questionnaire and below)? Your best estimate is fine. Please include all costs:

• Salaries, wages, fringe benefits

• Equipment, materials, supplies, software

• Rent, utilities

• Consultants, contractors

	$ Mil.				Thou.				Dol.
Total cost for R&D activities reported in Question 23 for 2016									0	0	0

Question 23

Research and development (R&D) comprise creative and systematic work undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge and to devise new applications of available knowledge.

During 2016, did your company do any of the following R&D activities? Include activities that:

• Your company performed

• Others paid your company to do

• Your company paid others to do

a. Developed and tested services, processes, or prototypes that were derived from scientific research or technical findings

b. Developed software that advanced scientific or technological knowledge

c. Produced findings that could be published in academic journals or presented at scientific conferences

d. Applied scientific or technical knowledge in a way that has never been done before

e. Created new scientific or technical solutions that can be generalized to other situations

f. Conducted work to discover previously unknown technological facts, structures, or relationships

g. Conducted work to extend the understanding of scientific facts, relationships, or principles in ways that could be useful to others

Attachment – Question B

B) What was the total worldwide R&D expense for your company in 2016?

If you company is publicly traded, this amount if equivalent to that disclosed on SEC Form 10-K as defined by FASB ASC Topic 730, Research and development.

If your company is foreign owned, refer to the instructions below.	$ Mil.				Thou.				Dol.
Additional Guidance, such as for privately owned companies, is available at econhelp. census.gov/brdscr.									0	0	0

Instructions for Question B

What is Research and Development (R&D)?

Research and development (R&D) comprise creative and systematic work undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge and to devise new applications of available knowledge. This includes a) activities aimed at acquiring new knowledge or understanding without specific immediate commercial applications or uses (basic research); b) activities aimed at solving a specific problem or meeting a specific commercial objective (applied research); and c) systematic work, drawing on research and practical experience and resulting in additional knowledge, which is directed to producing new products or processes or to improving existing products or processes (development). R&D includes both direct costs such as salaries of researchers as well as administrative and overhead costs clearly associated with the company’s R&D

The term R&D does NOT include expenditures for:

• Costs for routine product testing, quality control, and technical services unless they are an integral part of an R&D project

• Market research

• Efficiency surveys or management studies

• Literary, artistic, or historical projects, such as films, music, or books and other publications

• Prospecting or exploration for natural resources

Attachment – Question C

C. Does the amount reported in Question B include any of the following costs?

1. Collaborative R&D that was reimbursed by business partners, such as through cost-sharing agreements

2. R&D paid for by government or private foundation grants

3. Technical services not an integral part of an R&D project (such as product support provided by R&D employees)

4. Bid and proposal costs

5. Expense your company claimed resulting from the acquisition of another company with unfinished R&D projects (in-process R&D)

6. Phase IV clinical trials