A COMPARISON OF THE VIABILITY OF MAIL SURVEYS IN JAPAN AND THE UNITED STATES

A comparison of response rates and patterns to a mail survey conducted simultaneously on random samples drawn from telephone listings in Seattle, Washington, and Kobe, Japan, is presented. When undeliverable surveys (those for which the intended respondent had moved or passed away) are subtracted fr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Public opinion quarterly 1990-07, Vol.54 (2), p.219-228
Main Authors: JUSSAUME, RAYMOND A., YAMADA, YOSHIHARU
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Comparative Study
Cover letters
Crosscultural Analysis
Economic surveys
Food consumption
Japan
Japanese culture
Mail
Mail Surveys
Mailings
Questionnaires
Response rates
Seattle, Washington
Social surveys
Survey design
Survey research
Surveys
U.S.A
United States
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Summary:A comparison of response rates and patterns to a mail survey conducted simultaneously on random samples drawn from telephone listings in Seattle, Washington, and Kobe, Japan, is presented. When undeliverable surveys (those for which the intended respondent had moved or passed away) are subtracted from the original samples, a comparison of the differences in the response rate percentages for the two countries is found to be statistically insignificant. Adherence to the theoretical foundation of the Total Design Method is claimed to be the principal reason for success in achieving a higher response rate than predicted by Japanese scholars to the mail survey in Japan. These results show that there is potential for adapting survey research techniques developed in the United States to non-Occidental settings.
ISSN:0033-362X
1537-5331
DOI:10.1086/269199