Mail Survey Response Rates: Their Manipulation and Impact

Customer loyalty to one service worker: Should it be discouraged?

“…If she was within the eight week requirement, she was then asked whether she would mind accepting a self-completion questionnaire that would be sent to her by mail with an accompanying free sample of Pantene shampoo and conditioner that was procured from Procter and Gamble Australia. Small premiums with initial survey requests have been shown to increase response rates to mailed questionnaires (Goodstadt, Chung, Kronitz, & Cook, 1977). This small incentive was chosen as it was clearly related to the topic of study.…”

The Effect of Monetary Incentives and Follow-Up Mailings on the Response Rate and Response Quality in Mail Surveys

“…They found that, although after the first mailing the 25 cent incentive was the only amount that generated a significantly greater response rate than the no-incentive condition, after the second mailing, the cumulative response rates did not differ significantly between the 25 cent and the no-incentive condition. On the other hand, a study by Goodstadt, Chung, Kronitz, and Cook (1977) found that a 25 cent incentive produced a significantly higher response rate than the use of no incentive even after three follow-up mailings to each group.…”

“…Most previous studies have found that the incentives have little effect on the sociodemographic composition of respondents (e.g., Furse and Stewart, 1982;Hansen, 1980;Robertson and Bellenger, 1978;Wotruba, 1966), but at least one study has found that incentives produce a disproportionately larger percentage of respondents from lower educational and occupational strata (e.g., Nederhof, 1983). Most studies have found that the answers given by respondents do not differ as a function of incentives (Goodstadt, Chung, Kronitz, and Cook, 1977;Hancock, 1940;Hansen, 1980;Heads and Thrift, 1966;Maloney, 1954;Mizes, Fleece, and Roos, 1984;Nederhof, 1983). However, response quality, defined as "the degree of effort and thought devoted to the questionnaire by the respondent who completes it" (Houston and Ford, 1976), has been found to be greater as a result of financial incentives (e.g., Godwin, 1979;McDaniel and Rao, 1980).…”

“…Moreover, monetary incentives have been shown to be significantly more effective than premiums (such as key chains or ballpoint pens) (e.g., Goodstadt, Chung, Kronitz, and Cook, 1977;Hansen, 1980). But how do these two methods compare with one another, and are they more effective when used in combination than when used alone?…”

La senda tortuosa de la "Calidad" de la encuesta

“…Es preferible un regalo «simbóli-co», de escaso valor (de 5 euros, por ejemplo), adjunto al cuestionario, que una gratificación cuantiosa (un coche, 6.000 euros, un viaje para dos personas) «prometida» tras la cumplimentación del cuestionario. Los incentivos monetarios son más convincentes que los no monetarios (Goodstadt et al, 1977;Hansen, 1980); más los prepagados que la promesa de recompensa condicionada a la cumplimentación del cuestionario (Wotruba, 1966;Armstrong, 1975;Gelb, 1975;Goodstadt et al, 1977;Berk et al, 1987) 35 . En su contra está, lógicamente, el incremento en los costes de la encuesta y, como apunta LA SENDA TORTUOSA DE LA «CALIDAD» DE LA ENCUESTA 91 34 Aumento del 43% en la tasa de respuesta frente al 20% en correo ordinario (House, Gerber y McMichael, 1977).…”