Boosting Online Response Rates Among Nonresponders: A Dose of Funny

• Published in: Social science computer review 2017-10, Vol.35 (5), p.619-632
• Main Authors: Rath, Jessica M., Williams, Valerie F., Villanti, Andrea C., Green, Molly P., Mowery, Paul D., Vallone, Donna M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adults; Confidence intervals; Data acquisition; Data collection; Electronic mail; Households; Humor; Internet; Management; Participation; Polls & surveys; Probability; Response rates; Responses; Statistics; Young adults
• ISSN: 0894-4393; 1552-8286
• DOI: 10.1177/0894439316656151

Online data collection has become an extremely popular survey mode given its reduced cost, ease of administration, and timeliness. Although extensive research exists on the influence of e-mail invitation design characteristics to prompt survey participation, less is known about the effectiveness of e-mail reminders in prompting survey completion among nonresponders. The purpose of this study was to determine whether incorporating humor into e-mail reminders improved survey completion rates. Respondents from the Truth Initiative Young Adult Cohort (n = 2,963) who did not respond to the first standard e-mail invitation to complete their follow-up survey were randomly assigned to one of the three e-mail reminder groups: control (standard), humor only, or humor plus statistics. Those who received an initial humor plus statistics reminder e-mail received the humor only e-mail as their second reminder and vice versa. Logistic regression was used to generate the odds ratios (OR) for the probability of completing the survey after the first reminder. Results of multivariable models showed that, when collapsed together, the humor only and humor plus statistics e-mails were more effective than the control [adjusted OR (AOR) = 1.23, 95% confidence interval (CI) [1.01, 1.49], p = .05]. Receiving the humorous e-mail as the first reminder increased the odds of response to the survey by 24% (AOR = 1.24, 95% CI [1.00, 1.54], p = .04). Those entering the study at an earlier wave, nonsmokers and those living in smaller households were more likely to respond after the first reminder. A humorous reminder tailored to the voice of the audience is an easy, efficient, and effective way to increase response rates among young adults.