Protocol

2017 NAPCS Debriefings Protocol

1. Participant Background

• How long have you been with the company/in your current position?

• What is your title/role?

• What are your major responsibilities?

• What are your government reporting responsibilities?

• What other government surveys or filings, if any, do you also handle?

2. General Probes (Use these whenever necessary)

• In your own words, what would you say is the purpose of this survey question?

• In your opinion, is the information/ instructions on this screen helpful or not helpful?

• Can you tell me what you are thinking about?

• Can you tell me more about that?

• I want to make sure I understand; can you explain that again?

• Reflect back on R’s answer (“I want to make sure I have it right. I think you said, “…?”)

3. NAPCS Background

• Can you tell me about your process for filling out Economic Census?

  • Additional probes (if necessary):

    • Was this your first time filling out this survey?

    • What was your role completing the Economic Census? Were others involved in helping gather the data? If so, Did you complete Item 22 which asks about the Details of Sales, Shipments, Receipts or Revenue in the 2017 Economic Census survey? –may reference image that was emailed if needed

    • How do you typically gather the data for this survey item?

    • Did someone else have to review the data to this survey item before you submitted it?

Now I would like to ask you specific questions about your experience using the Census website to report. Please open the attachment that I sent you via e-mail. The document is in PDF form and each page is numbered. As I ask you questions, I will indicate which page you should be looking at.

4. Item 22 (Part A)

• Now I would like for you to navigate to Item 22 Details of Sales, Shipments, Receipts or Revenue in the instrument using the instructions provided

• In your own words, what was the purpose of this survey item?

• Describe to me how you reported to this item?

  • Via the spreadsheet or form (screen by screen) view?

    • If used the spreadsheet, Was the format/layout of the spreadsheet template useful?

      • How easy or difficult was it to input your information

      • Any recommended changes or additional information needed?

    • If used the form, Tell me about your experience using the form to complete this survey item? Any recommendations for improvements?

  • Did you use any records or other documentation?

    • If so, describe the nature and content of these records.

  • Did you obtain assistance from others?

    • (optional) If so, please describe others who assisted – e.g., their role in the company, why you involved them, how you contacted them and requested their help.

  • How easy or difficult was it to report to this survey item? Describe.

    • Any thoughts on the pre listed options that were presented to you?

      • Number of items

      • Ordering

      • Display

    • How easy or difficult was it to find the services/products that you needed to report?

      • Please tell me about how you went about identifying your products/services among the items that were listed.

  • Listen for descriptions about skimming the list, scrolling, looking for particular keywords (what were the keywords?), whether R reviewed the entire list, how R decided to stop looking for their products/services (e.g., accounting for most versus all of company revenue; how tedious; degree of mismatch between our product descriptions and their terminology), etc. Probe as needed or appropriate. Were the product/services listed relevant/applicable to your company? Did they accurately reflect your products/services?

  • Were you able to report all of your products/services from the listing? Were there any missing?

• If so, how did you account for the products and services that were not pre listed?

• To what extent did the descriptions used for your pre listed products/services match the way your business describes them in your records?

  • How easy or difficult was it for you to identify the products/services from your records on the listing

  • Is there another way you would want to report this information? How easy/difficult would it be to report this information in percentages?

5. Item 22 (Part B)

• Now I would like for you to navigate to Item 22 Details of Sales, Shipments, Receipts or Revenue-continued by clicking the Save and Continue button to get to the next screen

• Alternative: Please take a look at the Page 2 of the attachment which shows tem 22 Details of Sales, Shipments, Receipts or Revenue-continued.

• In your own words, what was the purpose of this screen?

  • Anything missing (e.g., expectations)

• Any thoughts on this screen? What is it showing you/asking you to do here?

• How do you feel about being shown only products/services that you selected on that previous screen?

• Any thoughts on being able to provide or include products/services that were not originally selected from the previous listing on that first screen?

• Please describe how you arrived at your answers to these items? That is, how did you go about determining the revenue/receipts/sales values requested here?

  • Did you use any records?

    • If so, describe the nature and contents of these records.

    • How are these records maintained?

  • How easy or difficult was it to report to this survey item? Describe.

    • For respondents who had prior reporting experience- Do you recall any differences from the way you may have reported this in the past? Describe.

• Were you able to report revenue/receipts/sales values for all of your products/services selected from the previous listing?

  • If no, tell me more about that.

• Write ins

  • Did you have to write in any products or services in the Other categories at the bottom of the screen?

    • If yes, tell me more.

    • If available, Remind R of write-in: I noticed from your submission that you wrote X, can you tell me more about this?

    • If no, is it clear what the purpose of the write ins are for? Describe.

    • Is it clear how to enter an additional product/services in Other?

      • Describe this process for me.

      • If needed, provide an example of a product/service to add.

• Did you receive any error messages (like the one shown) when reporting to this survey item? Describe.

  • If so, how easy or difficult was it to make a correction? Describe

  • Did you experience any difficulties with Survey item 5 while reporting?

    • If so, describe.

    • How did you resolve this?

Wrap-up

• Do you have any final recommendations or comments on any of the screens/questions we went over today?

This concludes our meeting. Thank you for your time and valuable feedback.

3/28/2018