Bundesanstalt Statistik Österreich ("STATISTICS AUSTRIA")

Directorate Social Statistics

Research and Digitalisation

Guglgasse 13

1110 Vienna, Austria

The EU survey on the use of ICT in households and by individuals is an annual survey conducted since 2002. In Austria, it has been conducted since 2002.

In 2022, the survey collects data on the access to information and communication technologies (ICT), on the use of the internet, e-government, e-commerce, internet of things, as well as green ICT.

National language (German): Einsatz von Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien (IKT) in Haushalten und bei Personen 2022

English: EU survey on the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in households and by individuals 2022

Questionnaire(s) in national language(s) and the translation in English are available in the annex.

The following common concepts and definitions apply under the Integrated European Social Statistics (IESS):

• the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011 published in the following breakdowns: low (ISCED levels 0-2: no formal education, primary education or lower secondary education), medium (ISCED levels 3-4: upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education) and high (ISCED levels 5-6: tertiary programmes which normally need a successful completion of ISCED 3 or 4, or second-stage tertiary education leading to an advanced research qualification);
• the International Standard Classification for Occupation ISCO-08 at the 2-digit level;
• the Classification of Economic Activities (NACE Rev.2-2008), at section level;
• the Common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS 1) – finer granularity of NUTS 2 is provided on optional basis by some Member states;
• the SCL - Geographical code list;
• information about household income is provided at lower level of detail. 

Additional classifications used in the national questionnaire:

No additional classifications used in the national questionnaire.

The ICT survey in households and by individuals covers those households having at least one member in the age group 16 to 74 years old. Internet access of households refers to the percentage of households that have an internet access, so that anyone in the household could use the internet.

No differences in scope at national level

The survey is collecting data of internet users, individuals who have used the internet in the last three months prior to the survey. Regular internet users are individuals who used the internet, on average, at least once a week in the last three months prior to the survey.

This annual survey is used to benchmark ICT-driven developments, both by following developments of core variables over time and by looking at other aspects at a specific point in time in more detail. While the survey initially focused on access and connectivity issues, its scope has subsequently been extended to cover a variety of subjects (for example, the use of e-government and e-commerce) and socio-economic analyses (such as regional diversity, gender specificity, differences in age, education and the employment situation). The scope of the survey with respect to different technologies is also adapted so as to cover new product groups and means of delivering communication technologies to end-users.

For more details on the methodology applicable in each survey year, please consult the Methodological Manual for the respective year on CIRCABC - Methodological Manual - Information society statistics (europa.eu).

Deviations from standard ICT concepts:

No deviations from standard ICT concepts at national level.

Households and Individuals

In the ICT usage survey, the target population for the different statistical units is:

- individuals: all individuals aged 16 to 74;

- households: all (private) households with at least one member aged 16 to 74. 

Target population composed of households and/or individuals:

• Number of households: approximately 3.6 million
• Number of individuals: approximately 6.7 million

Non-compulsory age groups also included in the target population:

The full territory of Austria is covered by the survey.

Year 2022

Not applicable

Percentages of ‘Households’ and Percentages of ‘Individuals’

For household data: The reference period was the time of the survey.

For individual data: The reference period was the time of the survey or the last three or twelve months prior to the survey.

Data collection from April to July 2022.

The legal basis for the 2022 EU survey on the use of ICT in households and by individuals is the Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 October 2019 establishing a common framework for European statistics relating to persons and households, based on data at individual level collected from samples (OJ  L 261 I, 14.10.2019, p. 1), as implemented by the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1223 of 27 July 2021 specifying the technical items of the data set, establishing the technical formats for transmission of information and specifying the detailed arrangements and content of the quality reports on the organisation of a sample survey in the use of information and communication technologies domain for reference year 2022 pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 2269, 27.07.2021, pp. 1-45).

The survey was conducted in accordance with these regulations.

Complementary national legislation constituting the legal basis for the survey on the use of ICT in households and by individuals:  No complementary national legislation.

Not applicable.

Security and protection of collected, processed and administered data and information is an utmost priority. All data storage and processing done, is in line with the General Data Protection Regulation and the Austrian Data Protection Act, following Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 164).

Beginning in May 2018, the strict data protection information came into force and is available under https://www.statistik.at/en/about-us/responsibilities-and-principles/legal-basis/data-protection.

Dates of the release of the ICT in households survey results in the first publication media (=internet) is preannounced in the release calendar of Statistics Austria, which is publicly accessible.

Statistics Austria's release calendar can be accessed online.

Results are disseminated to all users at the same time. After the data has been submitted to Eurostat, a press release statement is prepared and the information on the website is updated (key highlights, graphs, tables). Both the press release and the updated website are released on the same day free of charge.

Standard tables are available online to all users free of charge. 

Specific data are provided to everyone with a specific request. Feasibility of the request and payment of possible expenses are checked in advance.

Microdata is later added to the Austrian Micro Data Centers (AMDC) where the data can be requested by accredited researchers (e.g. researchers at accredited universities) for a charge. 

A publication with more detailed results is planned for 2023. It will be available online free of charge to all users. Alternatively, the publication can be bought in paper format.

Annual

The press release of the 2022 results on the 19 October 2022 is available on Statistic Austria's ICT usage in households website.

• A press release was published on 19 October 2022, an overall publication will follow in 2023.
• Main results are also presented on Statistics Austria's website.
• Statistical Yearbook 2023 (published at the beginning of 2023).

Results for selected variables collected in the framework of this survey are available on Digital economy and society of Eurostat website.

Not available

Micro-data access (e.g. for researchers) has to be requested. The Austrian micro-data is available in the Austrian Microdata Center (AMDC)

Data are sent to Eurostat.

Not available

Metadata about methodology and quality is available in every paper and electronic publication. The most detailed documentation on methodology and quality is the so-called "Standard Documentation", which is released on Statistics Austria's website. The Standard Documentation is available in German; a summary is available in English as well. The most detailed documentation on methodology and quality is the so-called "Standard Dokumentation", which can be found on Statistic Austria's ICT usage in households website.

100%

Quality documentation is included in the "standard documentation".

Statistics Austria is committed to ensuring the highest quality with respect to the compilation of statistical information. In accordance with the Federal Statistics Act (Article 24), Statistics Austria has to use statistical methods and processes in compliance with internationally recognised scientific principles and standards, conduct ongoing analyses of the statistics with a view to quality improvements and ensure that statistics are as up-to-date as possible. This commitment to quality is also specified in Statistics Austria’s mission statement. In adopting the European Statistics Code of Practice, Statistics Austria has committed to adhering to principles and standards for the production and dissemination of high-quality statistics. As part of the European Statistical System (ESS), Statistics Austria recognises the Quality Declaration of the ESS. The Statistics Council has set up a Quality Assurance Committee, a primary focus of which is the ongoing examination of potential quality improvements.

In cooperation with the Statistic Committee’s Quality Assurance Committee, feedback meetings concerning the quality of the different statistical products are held regularly within the framework of Statistics Austria’s quality management programme. In addition, internal quality audits are carried out by the quality management team. The content and objectives concern critical examination of the quality aspects of statistics with particular consideration of the methods and processes used; identification of quality improvement potential; development of recommendations for improvement measures; and improvement of the standard documentation relating to the statistics in question, with special attention to the views of users and external experts.

At national level, there is an ongoing exchange with some of the national main data users (e.g. ministries, researchers).

At European level, European Commission users (e.g. DG CNECT, DG GROW, DG JUST, DG REGIO, DG JRC etc.) are the principal users of the data on ICT usage by households and by individuals and contribute to identifying/defining the topics to be covered. Hence, main users are consulted regularly (at hearings, task forces, ad hoc meetings) about their needs and are involved in the process of the development of the model questionnaires at a very early stage.

User needs are considered throughout the whole discussion process of the model questionnaires aiming at providing relevant statistical data for monitoring and benchmarking of European policies.

At the national level, there is an ongoing exchange with some of the national main data users (e.g. ministries, researchers).

At European level, contacts within the Commission, the OECD and other stakeholders give a clear picture about the key users' satisfaction as to the following data quality aspects: accuracy and reliability of results, timeliness, satisfactory accessibility, clarity and comparability over time and between countries, completeness and relevance. Overall users have evaluated positively (good, very good) the data quality on the ICT usage by households and by individuals.

All variables required for transmission have been included.

100%

The survey was conducted with a large sample size. The representativity of the sample and the quality of the sample frame were high. Furthermore, various actions were taken to reduce non-sampling errors. Therefore, overall accuracy was estimated to be high. 

A rescaled bootstrap procedure for calibrated multistage samples is used for standard error calculation.

For more details see: Preston J. (2009) Rescaled bootstrap for stratified multistage sampling. Survey Methodology 35(2) 227-234.

Precision estimates for the question "Individuals having ordered goods or services for private use over the internet in the last 12 months" (individuals who ticked 'Within the last 3 months' or 'Between 3 months and a year ago' in question D1 of the 2022 model questionnaire):

Number of respondents (absolute value for ‘Yes’ answers):   2 651

Estimated proportion (in %):   65.65

Standard error (in percentage points):   1.12

Details of the breakdowns are available in the Annex "Standard errors – Mandatory – Optional questions_AT – 2022" below. 

See more details on non-sampling error below.

Non-applicable.

Non-applicable.

Not requested in the ICT survey.

1)       Measurement errors:  

A source of measurement errors could be unreliable answers of the respondents. The questionnaire is quite long and sometimes it may be hard to memorize all conducted internet activities in the reference period. Therefore, some respondents may give cursory answers. To prevent measurement errors, efforts were made in questionnaire design and testing.

2)       Questionnaire design and testing:  

The questionnaire was adapted to fulfil the requirements of web data collection. The usability of web questionnaire was tested and evaluated to be adequate.

3)       Interviewer training:  

Before data collection the interviewers participated in the training course. The content of the course included several themes like the background and objectives of the survey, the questionnaire and fieldwork instructions.

4)       Proxy interview rates: 0% 

Information about non-respondents: 

The non-response was higher among younger male respondents (persons aged 16-34). But all in all, it may be stated that the interviewees were relatively representative of the population, and that these distortions in terms of age and gender could be corrected by means of weighting coefficients.

The unit response rate is the ratio of the number of in-scope respondents (= the number of achieved interviews or the net sample size to the number of eligible elements selected from the sampling frame).

Unit non-response rate for

• Households:   47.7
• Individuals (aged 16-74):   64.3

 Comments, if any:

1)       Methods used for dealing with unit non-response: 

Respondents were informed by an advance notification letter about the survey. To minimize unit non-response the survey was conducted in a sequential mixed mode design. First the respondents were asked to do a web-questionnaire. In a second step non-responders were asked for a CATI-interview.

2)       Methods used for minimizing unit non-response:

No imputation was done on unit level. Unit-non-response-bias was corrected by grossing up procedures.

3)       Substitution permitted:  No

4)       Substitution rate (in %):  Not applicable

Items with low response rates (observed rates in %): 

For none of the items the observed non-response rate was above 10 percent.

In order to code the raw data according to the codebook the statistical programming package R was used. Data were validated according to Eurostat standards.

Not requested for ICT Survey

Data was collected between April and July 2022. National results were published on time (in October 2022).

See detailed sections below.

Data was sent to Eurostat on 5 October 2022.

Statistics are comparable at NUTS2-level.

Not relevant

Possible limitations in the use of data for comparisons over time:  No limitations known.

The length of comparable time series depends on the module and variable considered within each of the modules of the survey.

Not applicable

Not applicable

Not applicable

All statistics are coherent within the dataset.

MANDATORY questions in the Eurostat model questionnaire 2022:

The table in the annex "Standard errors – Mandatory – Optional questions_AT – 2022" lists the questions that do not reflect the coverage of subjects and characteristics of Annex 2 of the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1898 of the 20 July 2021. 

Adoption of OPTIONAL questions and items in the Eurostat model questionnaire 2022:

The table in the annex "Standard errors – Mandatory – Optional questions_AT – 2022" lists the optional questions from the annual Eurostat model questionnaire 2022 included in the national questionnaire and their coverage for age groups beyond the standard scope. 

Additional questions introduced in the national questionnaire: 

No additional questions have been added to the Eurostat-Questionnaire.

Effects of deviations from the routing used in the Eurostat model questionnaire: 

No effects known.

If a data revision would be necessary the revision paper of Statistics Austria would be in force, available on the Internet in German only.

https://www.statistik.at/ueber-uns/aufgaben-und-grundsaetze/standards/revisionspolitik-von-statistik-austria

Not applicable

Not relevant

The source of the raw data is described with more details in the paragraphs below.

The “Zentrales Melderegister (ZMR)” is used as sampling frame for the Continuous Labour Force Survey. A sub-sample of this survey was drawn for the ICT survey.

The sample of the ICT survey is a sub-sample of the Austrian continuous Labour Force survey (LFS) of the second quarter of the respective survey year. The sample frame is the Austrian Central Population Register in which all persons are registered who have their main residence on Austrian territory at the time of the sample selection.

The LFS is a one-stage stratified random sample of dwellings. Each NUTS-2 region forms a separate stratum. The gross sample size of the LFS for each quarter consists of 22 000 dwellings. Participation in the LFS is compulsory. The gross sample of the ICT usage survey is a subsample of the LFS sample with at least one household member between 16 and 74 years. Again the sampling procedure is random and stratified by NUTS-2 regions. Participation in the ICT survey is voluntary.

According to the concept of the Labour Force Survey in Austria, the survey will be conducted in a mixed mode design. Respondents will be asked to do a web-questionnaire following the principle of a mobile first approach (responsive design). In a second step non-responder will be asked for a CATI-interview.

Annual

1) Methods used to gather data:

Approximatly 60% of the interviews were done online. The remaining 40% were done by telephone interviews.

2) Short description of the survey method:

The survey was conducted in a sequential-mixed-mode-design. In a first step respondents were asked to do a web-questionnaire – in a second step non-responder were asked for a CATI-interview.

3) Variables completed from an external source:

Household income data was gathered from administrative registers.

The survey was carried out with a web questionnaire (CAWI) and telephone interviews (CATI). By using computer-assisted interview-techniques a system of checks and warnings operative directly in the interview situation was applied. Raw data was transformed into the default structure according to the EU code book using statistical software (R).The test procedures were based on the predetermined checking rules provided from Eurostat. These plausibility checks were undertaken in order to verify that the data respectively the codes do not contain errors. A further step of data verification consisted in time series checks. 

Imputations were only necessary in exceptional cases (less than 1% of data values). However, missing data was imputed by the k nearest neighbours technique. Non-response-bias was corrected by grossing up procedures.

For the target indicator "Individuals having ordered goods or services for private use over the internet in the last 12 months" (individuals who ticked 'Within the last 3 months' or 'Between 3 months and a year ago' in question D1 of the 2022 model questionnaire):

Imputation rate (% of observations):0%

Imputation rate (share of estimate):0%

Methods used to impute item non-response: 

Imputations were only necessary in exceptional cases. However, missing data was imputed by the k nearest neighbours technique.

Grossing up procedures have been applied to: Individuals and Households. See below for details.

Description of the weighting procedures:

The weights are calculated in two steps. First, a basic weight is calculated for each household by dividing the number of households with at least one person between 16 and 74 years as estimated from the LFS/micro-census by the corresponding net sample size of households in the ICT usage survey. This basic weight for households is calculated for each stratum separately. The basic person weight is calculated as basic household weight times the number of persons between 16 and 74 in the household divided by the number of responding persons between 16
and 74 in the household.

In the second step the weights are adjusted by iterative proportional fitting so that some resulting distributions of the ICT usage survey are in accordance to the same distributions resulting from the LFS. The distributions used for adjusting the basic weights are:
- Number of persons between 16 and 74 tabulated by NUTS-2 regions, age and sex
- Number of persons between 16 and 74 tabulated by NUTS-2 regions and nationality
- Number of households with at least one person between 16 and 74 tabulated by NUTS-2 regions and household size.

Not relevant

Not relevant