The Effect of Advance Letters on Cooperation in a List Sample Telephone Survey

In this research note, we report the results of a fully randomized telephone experiment designed to test the effectiveness & consequences of advance letters as applied to registered voters. We extend the literature on advance letters for telephone surveys by assessing the impact of such letters...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Public opinion quarterly 2002-12, Vol.66 (4), p.608-617
Main Authors: GOLDSTEIN, KENNETH M., KENT JENNINGS, M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Age groups
Arizona
Bias
Cooperation
Data collection
Demography
Denial
History, theory and methodology
Incentives
Interviews
Letters (Correspondence)
Methodology
Opinion polls
Political partisanship
Polls & surveys
Primaries & caucuses
Public opinion
Public opinion surveys
Registration
Research Notes
Research Responses
Response rates
Sociology
Students
Surveys
Telephone
Telephone Surveys
Telephones
Voter registration
Voters
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Summary:In this research note, we report the results of a fully randomized telephone experiment designed to test the effectiveness & consequences of advance letters as applied to registered voters. We extend the literature on advance letters for telephone surveys by assessing the impact of such letters in a political survey, & by using ancillary information not usually available in other experiments. The study, conducted in AZ, in the period preceding the state's 2000 presidential primaries demonstrated that notification letters can significantly increase response rates. By using a listed sample that contained key demographic & political characteristics of all sample units, we were able to compare the effect that the notification letter had on the cooperation rates of different types of respondents. Based on our results, it appears that men, younger people, non-partisans, & "non-locals" need different kinds of incentives than do women, older people, partisans, & "locals.". 3 Tables, 1 Appendix, 15 References. Adapted from the source document.
ISSN:0033-362X
1537-5331
DOI:10.1086/343756