The survey process and associated timescales
1. Inform and engage senior management and obtain permission to send out questionnaires to users. Finalise questionnaires and materials.
These steps need to be completed prior to sending out questionnaires.
2. Extract the Eligible Population data including auxiliary information.
3. Check eligible population data for completeness, accuracy and currency.
4. Remove from the eligible population figure those carers known to have been incorrectly included due to records being out of date.
Eligible population can be extracted at any time between 1 July and 30 September 2023.
5. Determine the required sample size.
6. Select the primary sample.
7. Select the reserve sample (if you wish at this point).
8. Determine which questionnaire to send to each carer.
9. Identify those carers who should not be sent a questionnaire due to the reasons listed in the Finalising the materials section.
These steps need to be completed after the Eligible Population extract has been taken, and prior to sending out questionnaires.
10. Send out and book in questionnaire.
11. Follow up non-respondents.
12. Select the top-up sample to compensate for low responses (if a reserve sample has not already been determined) if necessary.
13. Top up sample if necessary.
Questionnaires should be sent out from 1 October 2023. We recommend that fieldwork is completed by 30 November 2023.
14. Transfer questionnaire data to the data return.
15. Validate the data return.
16. Submit data to NHS England.
SACE data for 2023-24 should be submitted to NHS England by 29 February 2023.
Last edited: 23 October 2023 4:06 pm