Understanding Web Completion in a Survey of New Businesses (Presentation)

Abstract

Surveys of new establishments continue to encounter increased levels of both non-response and costs. Factors contributing to declining participation include the prevalence of sales solicitations new businesses receive, the lack of time available to business principals to complete surveys, and gatekeepers preventing direct access to business principals. The Kauffman Firm Survey, and others, have used multi-mode data collection methods including a self-administered web component to reduce time and cost, as well as to maximize respondent convenience. Understanding how establishments differ by mode of completion will inform future establishment web survey development. This paper will compare differences in industry, size, and complexity among businesses completing the web survey before and after CATI prompting, and those completing a CATI interview.

Keywords: Business surveys, web surveys