Innovation Survey Design
In response to strong user demand for updated and internationally comparable statistics covering technological and non-technological innovation for the goods producing and services sector, the ABS is conducting an Innovation Survey in 2004. The scope of the survey is all businesses with employment of 5 or more on the business register in all ANZSIC divisions with the exception of Agriculture, Government, Health & Community Personal & Other.
The survey was designed to meet accuracy constraints on two main outputs: the expenditure on innovation; and the proportion of innovative businesses. Information on the expenditure on innovation was available at the unit record level for the Manufacturing ANZSIC only, taken from the 1996/97 ABS Innovation Survey. Information on the proportion of innovative businesses was available at the ANZSIC by size level (a unit record file was not available), from the 1993/94 Innovation in Industry survey.
The design constraints were a 10% RSE for the expenditure on innovation and a 0.05 standard error for the proportion of innovators at the ANZSIC level (2-digit ANZSIC level within Manufacturing and Property and Business Services). Estimated stratum level population variances were derived for expenditure on innovation in the Manufacturing ANZSIC using the unit record file from the 1996/97 Innovation survey. Stratum level proportions were set to that at the ANZSIC by size level published from the 1993/94 Innovation in Industry survey, for all strata within that ANZSIC by size class (i.e. there was no difference across states). Population counts were taken from an appropriately scoped ABS business surveys frame used for the 2002/03 annuals.
Deriving separate allocations to meet these two constraints in the Manufacturing ANZSIC resulted in quite different sample sizes, with the sample needed to meet the expenditure RSEs being much larger than that needed to meet the proportion standard errors. This suggested that using the allocation derived for the proportion of innovators in the non-Manufacturing industries would not result in reliable expenditure data. However, since there was no design information for expenditure available in the non-Manufacturing industries the only option was to inflate the allocation derived for the proportion of innovators. To do this, a relationship between the allocation for expenditure and proportion within the Manufacturing ANZSIC was determined. This was then applied to the allocation for the proportion of innovators in the non-Manufacturing ANZSICs. The total allocation then comprised this inflated allocation in the non-Manufacturing ANZSICs plus the allocation for expenditure in Manufacturing.
This final allocation was below the affordable level determined by the Business Statistics Centre (BSC) , so given the age and the restricted nature of the design data it was decided to further inflate the allocation to this affordable level. This was done by allocating extra sample to those state by industry levels where the expected accuracy was the lowest.
It has been stressed to the BSC, National Statistics Centre (NSC) and external advisory group that due to the lack of design data plus the assumptions that were made in the design process, the design RSEs and standard errors are indicative only and can not be guaranteed.
The survey forms are due to be despatched in February 2004, with a publication date planned for November 2004.
For more information please contact Helen Teasdale on 08 9360-5991.
Email : helen.teasdale@abs.gov.au.
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