Memo

The Census Bureau plans to conduct additional research under the generic clearance for questionnaire pretesting research (OMB number 0607-0725). We will conduct cognitive testing on revised content for the 2016 Business R&D and Innovation Survey (BRDIS), to be conducted in 2017 for the 2016 reference year. The BRDIS is a mandatory survey collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and co-sponsored by Census and the National Science Foundation (NSF). The purpose of this survey is to provide detailed statistics on global and domestic R&D expenses of US-based companies as well as statistics on the R&D workforce, intellectual property, technology transfer activities and innovation. It provides the only comprehensive R&D expense data covering all domestic non-farm businesses and detailed expenses by type and industry. The 2016 BRDIS will be collected primarily through the Census Bureau’s online collection system. Respondents will be sent a letter with log-in credentials and instructions for accessing the online system, though paper forms are available upon request.

From March through September 2016, staff from the Data Collection Methodology & Research Branch (DCMRB) within the Economic Directorate of the Census Bureau will conduct up to five rounds of cognitive interviews with respondents from up to 50 businesses. We will attempt to select a diverse sample of businesses with an emphasis on companies for whom the changes to the survey may be relevant: defense contractors, small businesses, and large, publicly trading companies. Recruiting lists will be provided to DCMRB researchers by BRDIS staff.

The only change to the survey involves a slight expansion of the survey’s definition of “research and development” to specify “experimental development.” The change primarily affects a few key items and the definition of R&D included in global instructions. The goals of the cognitive interviewing are to determine whether the change to the definition will change the way respondents report their R&D activities. Results of the interviews will be used to inform the design of questions and instructions related to the definition to ensure that the data being collected reflects the goal of the survey. A draft version of the revised survey content (the key items and global instruction) and a draft protocol are enclosed.

Interviews with the business respondents will be conducted at their offices. Subject area specialists from BRDIS and NSF may participate in the interviews as observers and to clarify matters related to the survey. Interviews will be audio recorded, with the participants’ permission, to aid researchers in accurately reporting findings and recommendations. We will not be providing monetary incentives to participants in this study. Participants will be informed that their response is voluntary and that the information they provide is confidential and will be seen only by Census Bureau employees or NSF special sworn employees involved in the research project. After interviews are scheduled, participants will receive follow-up reminders about their appointments by email upon request.

We estimate that it will be necessary to interview one respondent at each small business (up to 15 such businesses), and up to two respondents at large companies (up to 35 such businesses). We estimate that the length of the cognitive interviews will average 60 minutes. The estimated maximum burden for conducting cognitive interviews is 85 hours (1 hour X (15 X 1 + 35 X 2)). In order to schedule and complete 50 interviews, we expect to contact up to 250 potential interviewees, with each call lasting approximately 5 minutes. The estimated burden for recruiting these interviews is 20.75 hours (.083 hour X 250). The total estimated burden for this project is 105.75 hours.

The contact person for questions regarding data collection and statistical aspects of the design of this research is:

Michael Brennan

Data Collection Methodology & Research Branch

U.S. Census Bureau

Washington, D.C. 20233

(301) 763-6196

michael.brennan@census.gov

CC Enclosures:

B. Bostic (ADEP) with enclosure

K. Moore (ERD) with enclosure

C. Caldwell (ESMD) with enclosure

C. Hogue (ESMD) “          ”

A. Newman-Smith (ESMD) “ “

R. Hough (ERD) “ “

D. Willimack (ESMD) “ “

M. Flaherty (ERD) “ “

A. Tuttle (ESMD) “ “

D. Norman (PCO) “          ”