Improving Survey Response Rates in Online Panels: Effects of Low-Cost Incentives and Cost-Free Text Appeal Interventions

Identifying ways to efficiently maximize the response rate to surveys is important in survey-based research. However, evidence on the response rate effect of donation incentives and especially altruistic and egotistic text appeal interventions is sparse and ambiguous. Via a randomized survey experim...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social science computer review 2016-04, Vol.34 (2), p.229-243
Main Authors: Pedersen, Mogens Jin, Nielsen, Christian Videbæk
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Appeals
Cost incentives
Incentives
Internet
Intervention
Lotteries
Low cost
Online
Panels
Polls & surveys
Responses
Social networks
Texts
Treatment methods
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Summary:Identifying ways to efficiently maximize the response rate to surveys is important in survey-based research. However, evidence on the response rate effect of donation incentives and especially altruistic and egotistic text appeal interventions is sparse and ambiguous. Via a randomized survey experiment among 6,162 members of an online survey panel, this article shows how low-cost incentives and cost-free text appeal interventions may affect the survey response rate in online panels. The experimental treatments comprise (a) a cash prize lottery incentive, (b) two donation incentives that promise a monetary donation to a good cause in return for survey response, (c) an egotistic text appeal, and (d) an altruistic text appeal. Relative to a control group, we find higher response rates among recipients of the egotistic text appeal and the lottery incentive. Donation incentives yield lower response rates.
ISSN:0894-4393
1552-8286
DOI:10.1177/0894439314563916