Survey of Digital Technology and Internet Use - 2012

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For Information onlyThis is an electronic survey example for information purposes only. This is not a working questionnaire.

Introduction

Correct pre-printed information, if necessary, using the corresponding boxes below:

  • C0001: Legal name
  • C0002: Operating name
  • C0008: First name
  • C0028: Last name
  • C0021: Title
  • C0004: Address (number and street)
  • C0005: City
  • C0006: Province / Territory
  • C0007: Postal code

Purpose

The Survey of Digital Technology and Internet Use measures the adoption and use of various digital technologies, including the Internet.

Additional information

The survey will collect information on the reasons businesses choose to adopt digital technologies, effects on the business, and expenditures on digital technologies. These data are used to develop national policies and benchmark Canada's performance compared to other countries.

Authority

This survey is conducted under the authority of the Statistics Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, Chapter S-19.

COMPLETION OF THIS QUESTIONNAIRE IS A LEGAL REQUIREMENT UNDER THIS ACT.

Confidentiality

The Statistics Act protects the confidentiality of information collected by Statistics Canada. Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Statistics Canada will use the information from this survey for statistical purposes.

Data-sharing agreements

To reduce respondent burden, Statistics Canada has entered into data-sharing agreements with provincial and territorial statistical agencies and other government organizations, which have agreed to keep the data confidential and use them only for statistical purposes. Statistics Canada will only share data from this survey with those organizations that have demonstrated a requirement to use the data.

Section 11 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with provincial and territorial statistical agencies that meet certain conditions. These agencies must have the legislative authority to collect the same information, on a mandatory basis, and the legislation must provide substantially the same provisions for confidentiality and penalties for disclosure of confidential information as the Statistics Act. Because these agencies have the legal authority to compel businesses to provide the same information, consent is not requested and businesses may not object to the sharing of the data.

For this survey, there are Section 11 agreements with the provincial and territorial statistical agencies of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, and the Yukon.

The shared data will be limited to information pertaining to business establishments located within the jurisdiction of the respective province or territory.

Section 12 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with federal, provincial or territorial government organizations. Under Section 12, you may refuse to share your information with any of these organizations by writing a letter of objection to the Chief Statistician and returning it with the completed questionnaire. Please specify the organizations with which you do not want to share your data.

For this survey, there are Section 12 agreements with the statistical agencies of Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

For agreements with provincial and territorial government organizations, the shared data will be limited to information pertaining to business establishments located within the jurisdiction of the respective province or territory.

Record linkage

To enhance the data from this survey, Statistics Canada may combine it with information from other surveys or from administrative sources.

Security of emails and faxes

Statistics Canada advises you that there could be a risk of disclosure during facsimile or other electronic transmission. However, upon receipt, Statistics Canada will provide the guaranteed level of protection afforded all information collected under the authority of the Statistics Act.

Return procedures

Please return the completed questionnaire to Statistics Canada within 30 days of receipt by mail, using the enclosed envelope or you can send it by facsimile to 1-888-883-7999.

Assistance

For additional information, or to request an electronic version of this questionnaire, please call the phone number on the label above.

Coverage

For the purpose of this survey, please report information for the 12 month calendar period between January 1st and December 31st of the reporting year.

Reporting instructions

- When precise figures are not available, please provide your best estimate
- Please complete this questionnaire for the operations of your business in Canada only
- Answers to the questions should reflect the operations as defined by the label on the front of the questionnaire
- Answer categories that are marked with an asterisk have a definition provided within the instructions for the question

Instructions

This questionnaire should be completed by the IT Manager of the business or equivalent. If there is no IT manager in the business, please direct the questionnaire to the President of the business or the person most familiar with the business' use of digital technology.

SECTION A - INTERNET CONNECTION

SECTION A - INTERNET CONNECTION - Question identifier:1.

Please indicate all of the connection types your business uses to access the Internet.

  • 1: Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) over a telephone line
  • 2: Cable modem
  • 3: Mobile wireless* (e.g., 3G or 4G connection)
  • 4: Satellite
  • 5: Fibre optic line* (e.g., T3, metro Ethernet)
  • 6: Dial-up over a telephone line
  • 7: Fixed wireless or a portable Wi-Fi hotspot* (e.g., Smart Hub)
  • 8: Don't know
  • 9: We do not use the Internet (Go to question 19)

SECTION B - USE OF THE INTERNET

SECTION B - USE OF THE INTERNET - Question identifier:2.

Did your business have an Internet website in the reference year?

  • 1: Yes
  • 3: No (Go to question 5)

SECTION B - USE OF THE INTERNET - Question identifier:3.

Which of the following features does your Internet website offer?

  • 1: Online payment (complete transaction and payment online)
  • 2: Integration with social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Google+)
  • 3: A version of the website optimized for mobile users
  • 4: Media-rich content (e.g., interactivity, videos)
  • 5: Customised website or information provided for repeat visitors
  • 6: Online forms for collecting customer information
  • 7: Secure website (e.g., https://, user authentication)
  • 8: None of the above

SECTION B - USE OF THE INTERNET - Question identifier:4.

Which of the following strategies were in place to direct traffic to your Internet website?

  • 1: Paid search (e.g., Google AdWords, pay-per-click)
  • 2: Print Advertising (e.g., newspapers, magazines)
  • 3: Social media (e.g., Twitter, Facebook)
  • 4: Other media (e.g., television, radio)
  • 5: None of the above

SECTION B - USE OF THE INTERNET - Question identifier:5.

Did your business make sales of goods or services via the Internet in the reference year?

  • 1: Yes
  • 3: No (Go to question 8)

SECTION B - USE OF THE INTERNET - Question identifier:6.

What were your business' total gross sales conducted over the Internet in the reference year?

SECTION B - USE OF THE INTERNET - Question identifier:7.

What percentage of the value of your business' gross sales were made over the Internet in the reference year?

SECTION B - USE OF THE INTERNET - Question identifier:8.

Did your business make purchases of goods or services via the Internet in the reference year?

  • 1: Yes
  • 3: No

SECTION C - USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES

SECTION C - USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES - Question identifier:9.

Did your business use any of the following Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the reference year?

  • 1: Computers
  • 2: Internet-enabled mobile device (e.g., smartphone, tablet)
  • 3: Company-wide computer networks (e.g., LAN, WAN)
  • 4: Electronic Data Interchange on the Internet (EDI)*
  • 5: Industry-specific software (e.g., point of sale software)
  • 6: Customer/Supplier Relationship Management Software (CRM)*
  • 7: Enterprise Resource Planning Software (ERP)*
  • 8: Radio Frequency Identification Tags (RFID)*
  • 9: No ICTs are used in our business (Go to question 16)

SECTION C - USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES - Question identifier:10.

Please indicate how your business acquires Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).

  • 1: By purchasing off-the-shelf ICTs (hardware and/or software)
  • 2: By leasing off-the-shelf ICTs (hardware and/or software)
  • 3: By modifying or customizing off-the-shelf ICTs (hardware and/or software)
  • 4: By programming or building custom solutions (either in-house or by contracting out)

SECTION C - USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES - Question identifier:11.

What have been the main benefits to your business as a result of using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)?

  • 1: Reduced costs of operations and/or labour
  • 2: Increased ability to respond to customer or supplier requirements
  • 3: Keeping pace with competitors
  • 4: Reduced transaction times
  • 5: Improved goods or services quality
  • 6: Improved flexibility of production or service provision
  • 7: Employee satisfaction
  • 8: Don't know / none of the above benefits

SECTION C - USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES - Question identifier:12.

Did the introduction of an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) result in any of the following business changes?

  • 1: Greater information sharing
  • 2: Greater integration among offline and online business activities
  • 3: Re-engineering of business processes
  • 4: Data collection, storage, and maintenance
  • 5: Greater reliance on job rotation, multi-skilling
  • 6: No changes
  • 7: Other change - specify

SECTION D - ICT SKILLS IN THE WORKPLACE

SECTION D - ICT SKILLS IN THE WORKPLACE - Question identifier:13.

Did your business make capital expenditures on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) during the past three years?

  • 1: Yes
  • 3: No (Go to question 15)

SECTION D - ICT SKILLS IN THE WORKPLACE - Question identifier:14.

Please indicate which ICT capital expenditures your business made during the past three years.

  • 1: Computer hardware
  • 2: Off-the-shelf computer software
  • 3: Customized computer software
  • 4: Network operating systems or equipment (e.g., Local Area Network (LAN))

SECTION D - ICT SKILLS IN THE WORKPLACE - Question identifier:15.

Please indicate which ICT services your business made expenditures on during the past three years.

  • 1: Software as a service* (e.g., cloud computing)
  • 2: Website design or hosting services
  • 3: Data processing services (e.g., web analytics)
  • 4: Database services (e.g., database design or management, data storage, data retrieval)
  • 5: Other ICT services
  • 6: No expenditures during the past three years

SECTION E - PRIVACY OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

SECTION E - PRIVACY OF PERSONAL INFORMATION - Question identifier:16.

Does your business collect or store personal information (e.g., name, address, email)?

  • 1: Yes
  • 3: No (Go to question 19)

SECTION E - PRIVACY OF PERSONAL INFORMATION - Question identifier:17.

How does your business collect or obtain personal information?

  • 1: Social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter)
  • 2: A third party (e.g., marketing companies)
  • 3: Directly from customer
  • 4: Loyalty or rewards programs

SECTION E - PRIVACY OF PERSONAL INFORMATION - Question identifier:18.

How does your business protect personal information that is stored in an electronic format?

  • 1: Storing data off-line (data is not stored on a network)
  • 2: Limited access controls (e.g., security clearances, sharing agreements)
  • 3: Encryption of data
  • 4: Protected by a third party
  • 5: Other protection method - specify:

SECTION F - GENERAL INFORMATION

SECTION F - GENERAL INFORMATION - Question identifier:19.

What is the number of full-time employees of your business?

  • 1: 0
  • 2: 1 to 9
  • 3: 10 to 19
  • 4: 20 to 49
  • 5: 50 to 99
  • 6: 100 to 299
  • 7: 300 to 499
  • 8: 500 or more

SECTION F - GENERAL INFORMATION - Question identifier:20.

How much time was spent compiling data and completing this questionnaire?

  • C9910: Hour(s)
  • C9909: Minutes
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