Further Evidence on Using a Deadline to Stimulate Responses to a Mail Survey

J. Henley (see SA 25:4/77I7389) reported that in mail surveys a deadline will increase the early return rate but that this effect is lost as the deadline draws near. In 1975, a systematic sample of dentists -- stratified for geographic area & based on the membership file of the American Dental A...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Public opinion quarterly 1978-10, Vol.42 (3), p.407-410
Main Authors: ROBERTS, ROBERT E., McCRORY, OWEN F., FORTHOFER, RONALD N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Building customization
Current Research
Deadlines
Linear models
Mail/Mailed
Questionnaires
Response rates
Response/Responsive/ Responsiveness/Responses
Survey/Surveys
Transcriptional regulatory elements
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Summary:J. Henley (see SA 25:4/77I7389) reported that in mail surveys a deadline will increase the early return rate but that this effect is lost as the deadline draws near. In 1975, a systematic sample of dentists -- stratified for geographic area & based on the membership file of the American Dental Assoc (N = 1,190) -- was divided into eight groups. These were differentiated on the basis of two levels of: personalization, appeal, & deadlines. For initial returns the response rate was higher with deadlines than without deadlines. This was also true of the first follow-up letter sent. The highest overall response rate was for the group using a personalized salutation, a deadline, & no social appeal (42.6%). The attenuation noted by Henley in the final response rates was also observed. 1 Table. M. Migalski.
ISSN:0033-362X
1537-5331
DOI:10.1086/268464