measuring respondent burden to statistical surveys
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Measuring Respondent Burden to Statistical Surveys. John-Mark Frost, Sarah Green, Jacqui Jones & Denise Williams UK Office for National Statistics. Aim of Presentation. To provide an overview of the: - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Measuring Respondent Burden to Statistical SurveysJohn-Mark Frost, Sarah Green, Jacqui Jones & Denise Williams
UK Office for National Statistics
Aim of Presentation
• To provide an overview of the:
- Drivers for the UK pilot of using the Standard Cost Model to measure respondent burden from statistical surveys
- Issues highlighted by this work
Overview of Presentation
• Measuring respondent burden from statistical surveys - Drivers- Measurement
• Standard Cost Model for measuring respondent burden from statistical surveys- Drivers- Measurement- Pilot - Issues
• The way forward
Drivers for Measuring Respondent Burden from Statistical Surveys
Prime Ministers’ Instructions on the Control of Statistical Surveys
UK Code of Practice for Official Statistics
Report annually the estimated costs (for example, on businesses, service providers, or the public) of responding to statistical surveys …
PMIs
Code
of
Practice
Measurement of Respondent Burden from Statistical Surveys
Simple method: - used during survey control reviews - 20% of survey sample - postal self-completion questionnaire
Calculated by:(No. of questionnaires (100% response)) * (estimated completion time) *(appropriate hourly rate)+Up-rating for respondent re-contact
Recognised weakness in method:“questionnaire did not adequately capture all activities involved in complying with the regulation”
PMIs
Code
of
Practice
Measurement
SCM to Measure Total Respondent Burden in Europe
Statistics Netherlands Standard Cost Model- European approach to measure administrative burdens for all government information requests - Including survey participation
Standard Cost Model approach: - Highlights impact of international legislation - Transparent measurement - Measures administrative burden - Data collected in face-to-face interviews
PMIs
Code
of
Practice
Measurement
SCM
SCM to Measure Total Respondent Burden in the UK
Administrative Burden Reduction Project - Total UK administrative burden - Includes survey participation - Burden associated with statistical surveys forms only a small part of the total - Use SCM
PM’s
Code
of
Practice
Measurement
SCM ABRP
Drivers for Measuring Respondent Burden from Statistical Surveys
Need to change method
Need consistency
= Use SCM
PM’s
Code
of
Practice
Measurement
SCM ABRP
!
Introduction of the SCM to Measure Respondent Burden from Statistical Surveys
• ABRP used face-to-face interviews with very small sample sizes- Not feasible or robust enough for measuring compliance on
a regular basis
• A paper-based version of the SCM developed to measure costs of complying with statistical surveys- Implement quantitative rather than qualitative approach
• The paper-based version was piloted in ONS
SCM to Measure Respondent Burden from Statistical Surveys
• Questionnaire developed- 10 questions- Breakdown of responding activity- Information available from ‘business-as-usual’- External costs- Survey irritants
- For example: unclear definitions or available information did not match information requested
• Standard Cost Model formula:mean weighted cost per questionnaire + re-contact uplift
*number of questionnaires in survey sample *survey frequency
Pilot for Measuring Respondent Burden from Statistical Surveys Using the SCM
• Pilot highlighted large differences in estimates when compared to:- Face-to-face interview methodology- Previous ONS methodology
• Differences to previous ONS methodology are driven by:- Different information in models- Change in pay rates- Different uplifts for overheads- Adjustment to internal costs for business-as-usual
Issues with the SCM for Measuring Respondent Burden from Statistical Surveys
• Figures surrounded by confidence intervals of the same magnitude as previous methodology
• Method is hugely resource intensive- Respondents- Data producers
• Difficulties in estimating accurately- Breakdown of activities- Associating costs with respondents
Questions Raised from Pilot Results
• Statistical surveys form only small fraction of total administrative burden - Does measurement need to be consistent?
• Are such resource costs beneficial?- The figures are purely estimates
• Would a simpler method be:- Fit-for-purpose?- As robust?
Way Forward for Measuring Respondent Burden from Statistical Surveys
• Recommendation to use a simpler model:- More proportionate- Is concerned with consistently measuring change
over time rather than accurate levels
• ONS has worked with producers of UK official statistics to develop such a model- Currently proposals are being finalised to take to
the National Statistician for approval