Integration of the Electronic Questionnaire: Impact on the Collection Process and Results of the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours - ARCHIVED

The Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH) produces monthly estimates and determines the month-to-month changes for variables such as employment, earnings and hours at detailed industrial levels for Canada, the provinces and territories. In order 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 as well as the production calendar of the survey, a conversion strategy was developed for the integration of this new mode. 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, the different adjustments that were made during the transition period and 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 follow-up rate will be presented. In addition, the effect that this new collection mode has on the survey estimates will also be discussed. More specifically, the results of a randomized experiment that was conducted in order to determine the presence of a mode effect will be presented.