E-Mail Contacts: A Test of Complex Graphical Designs in Survey Research

A web survey of high school students was used to understand how the visual design of the e-mail contact affects survey response. Respondents were contacted with one of six e-mail designs that varied by format (text vs. HTML), color of background (white vs. black), and graphical design (simple vs. co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social science computer review 2004-10, Vol.22 (3), p.370-376
Main Authors: Whitcomb, Michael E., Porter, Stephen R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Color
Design
Electronic mail
Electronic mail systems
Email
Format
Graphic symbols
High School Students
History, theory and methodology
HTML
HyperText Markup Language
Information Technology
Internet
Methodology
Polls & surveys
Research Design
Research Responses
Response rates
Sociology
Students
Surveys
Texts
Visual
Visual information
Websites
World Wide Web
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Summary:A web survey of high school students was used to understand how the visual design of the e-mail contact affects survey response. Respondents were contacted with one of six e-mail designs that varied by format (text vs. HTML), color of background (white vs. black), and graphical design (simple vs. complex). The results indicate that e-mails with nonwhite backgrounds and complex graphical designs can suppress response rates more than 5 percentage points.
ISSN:0894-4393
1552-8286
DOI:10.1177/0894439304263590