RAS Survey

Annual Integrated Economic Survey Pilot Study

Response Analysis Survey

Thank you for completing the 2023 Annual Integrated Economic Survey (AIES) Pilot Study! We have a few questions about your experiences completing the survey. Please answer candidly so that we can use your response to improve the overall survey. Your responses are protected under Title 13 of the U.S. Code.

1. Are you typically the person who completes Census Bureau surveys?

• Yes, by myself

• Yes, with others in my company

• No

2. For about how many years have you held your current position? Estimates are fine, please round up to 1 if less than 1 year.

________ years

Section I: Completing the Survey:

3. Which of the following were used to complete the AIES questionnaire? Select all that apply.

• My own memory

• Personnel records

• Payroll records

• General ledger

• Inventory records

• Accounting records

• Other employees’ input

• Other source(s), describe: ___________________

4. Was it necessary to collect information from other persons or sources within the company before the AIES questionnaire could be completed?

• Yes (go to 5)

• No (go to 8)

5. Approximately how much time did you spend collecting relevant information before the AIES questionnaire could be completed?

__ hours __minutes

6. Did other people help you collect relevant information or complete answers in the AIES questionnaire?

• Yes (go to 7)

• No (go to 8)

7. How many persons did you get this kind of help from?

1. ___number of persons

8. Approximately how much time all together did it take you to complete the AIES?

__ hours __minutes

9. Did you think it was quick or time-consuming to collect the information to complete the AIES questionnaire?

• Very quick

• Quick

• Neither quick nor time-consuming

• Time-consuming

• Very time-consuming

10. Did you find it easy or difficult to complete the AIES questionnaire?

• Very easy

• Easy

• Neither easy nor difficult

• Difficult

• Very difficult

11. (If Q9 = 4 or 5) Why did you find it time-consuming? Select all that apply.

• Had to collect information from different sources

• Needed help from others to answer some of the questions

• Had to wait for information that was available at different times

• Had to add, allocate, or otherwise manipulate data

• Other reasons, please specify: ______________________

12. (if Q10 = 4 or 5) What conditions contributed to making the questionnaire difficult to complete? Select all that apply.

• Too many questions

• The online survey was difficult to use.

• Unclear or inadequately defined terms

• Questions entailing complicated or lengthy calculations

• Available information did not match the information asked for

• Difficult to break the data out as requested

• Other reasons, please specify: _______________________

13. How accurate was the pre-filled information on your survey?

• Completely accurate

• Some accurate, some not

• Completely inaccurate

Section II: Evaluation of the Survey

14. Did the AIES questionnaire seem to be an appropriate length or too long?

• Appropriate length

• Too long

15. Do you think the statistics from the AIES questionnaire will be useful or useless for your business?

• Very useful

• Useful

• Neither useful nor useless

• Useless

• Very useless

16. Do you think the statistics from the AIES questionnaire will be useful or useless for the country?

• Very useful

• Useful

• Neither useful nor useless

• Useless

• Very useless

17. (If uploaded spreadsheet): How easy or difficult was it to use the spreadsheet to complete the AIES questionnaire?

• Very easy

• Easy

• Neither easy nor difficult

• Difficult

• Very difficult

18. Overall, which of the following AIES steps was most challenging to complete?

• Step 1: Company Level Data

• Step 2: Establishment and Industry Reporting Spreadsheet

19. (For production cases) Compared to annual surveys in previous years, how easy or difficult did you find completing the AIES questionnaire?

• Very easy

• Easy

• Neither easy nor difficult

• Difficult

• Very difficult

20. Please use the space below to provide any feedback, issues you may have had completing the AIES questionnaire, and questions or concerns you have about this questionnaire.

Many thanks for your participation!

Note: Questions adapted from the following sources:

Mockovak, William, and Sharon Stang. 2012. Using Iterative Pretesting and Response Analysis Surveys to Develop a Questionnaire for a Multi-Mode Survey. Washington, DC: Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Phipps, Polly A., Shall J. Butani, and Young I. Chun. 1995. “Research on Establishment-Survey Questionnaire Design.” Journal of Business and Economic Statistics 13(3):337–46.

Snijkers, Ger, Gustav Haraldsen, Jacqui Jones, and Diane K. Willimack. 2013. Designing and Conducting Business Surveys. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.