Small Business Framework - Research - The Legal Services Board

The" words" used" to" introduce" problems" were" changed" significantly" following"
cognitive"testing,"which"demonstrated"the"particular"ambiguity"of"terms"such"as"
‘problem’"in"a"business"context."
Whenever"a"respondent"indicates"that"problems"have"been"experienced,"a"
short" series" of" questions" (P2]P7)" establishes" the" number" of" problems"
experienced," the" capability" of" the" business" to" deal" with" such" problems," where"
responsibility" for" dealing" with" problems" falls" within" the" business," and" how"
serious" such" problems" are" for" the" business." A" loop" of" questions" (P8]P26)" then"
obtains"further"details"of"the"two"most"recent"problems"faced.""
Two"issues"arise"here."The"first"is"the"appropriate"number"of"problems"to"
automatically" follow]up" in" each" category." The" questionnaire" is" drafted" for" two"
problems,"but"this"may"need"to"be"reduced"to"one"problem"if"interviews"could"
become" overly" long." Second," for" businesses" that" experience" many" problems"
within"a"category"the"two"most"recent"may"well"have"only"just"commenced,"in"
which"case"data"would"be"largely"incomplete.""
One"option"would"be"for"only"concluded"problems"to"be"asked"about.""This"
also"has"the"benefit"of"yielding"fully"usable"data"for"all"problems,"as"a"complete"
strategy" picture" is" available" for" concluded" problems," rather" than" a" provisional"
one." However," this" approach" runs" a" risk" of" no" data" being" collected" for" low"
problem" incidence" businesses." Another" option" would" be" to" have" a" severity"
threshold"for"follow]up,"with"reference"to"question"P7"(which"would"have"to"be"
asked"of"all"respondents)."Only"piloting"will"allow"effective"decisions"in"this"area."
The" P8]P26" loop" of" questions" covers" the" nature" of" the" ‘other" side’"
(although"here"there"is"an"issue"around"whether"there"will"always"be"an"‘other"
side’)," the" character" and" severity" of" problems," the" strategy" adopted" to" resolve"
problems,"the"type"of"external"help"sought"(and"success"in"obtaining"help),"mode"
of" access" to" advice," Internet" use," process," representation" at" court," outcome,"
consequences"and,"finally,"dates.""
Recognising" that" businesses" may" face" many" similar" problems," a" final"
series" of" P" module" questions" askes" for" aggregate" data" for" the" remaining"
problems"faced."Aggregate"data"is"collected"for"strategy,"sources"of"help,"process"
and"outcome."
Linked"to"the"earlier"issue"identified"in"relation"to"high"problem"incidence"
businesses," there" is" a" general" issue" (that" will" be" capable" of" resolution" only" in"
light" of" pilot" work)" about" whether" to" collect" only" aggregate" data" for" such"
businesses." This" would" both" limit" interview" duration" and" avoid" difficulties"
identifying"specific"problems"in"a"coherent"manner."If"this"were"the"case,"and"in"
any" event" if" there" are" businesses" that" experience" large" numbers" of" problems"
within"single"categories,"analysis"may"have"to"be"separately"conducted"for"low"
and" high" problem" incidence" businesses," to" avoid" the" formers’" problems" being"
weighted" downwards" too" much" (to" maintain" the" representativeness" of" the"
sample)."
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