Rates, Delays, and Completeness of General Practitioners’ Responses to a Postal Versus Web-Based Survey: A Randomized Trial

Abstract

BackgroundWeb-based surveys have become a new and popular method for collecting data, but only a few studies have directly compared postal and Web-based surveys among physicians, and none to our knowledge among general practitioners (GPs).ObjectiveOur aim is to compare two modes of survey delivery (postal and Web-based) in terms of participation rates, response times, and completeness of questionnaires in a study assessing GPs’ preventive practices.MethodsThis randomized study was conducted in Western Switzerland (Geneva and Vaud) and in France (Alsace and Pays de la Loire) in 2015. A random selection of community-based GPs (1000 GPs in Switzerland and 2400 GPs in France) were randomly allocated to receive a questionnaire about preventive care activities either by post (n=700 in Switzerland, n=400 in France) or by email (n=300 in Switzerland, n=2000 in France). Reminder messages were sent once in the postal group and twice in the Web-based group. Any GPs practicing only complementary and alternative medicine were excluded from the study.ResultsAmong the 3400 contacted GPs, 764 (22.47%, 95% CI 21.07%-23.87%) returned the questionnaire. Compared to the postal group, the participation rate in the Web-based group was more than four times lower (246/2300, 10.70% vs 518/1100, 47.09%, P<.001), but median response time was much shorter (1 day vs 1-3 weeks, P<.001) and the number of GPs having fully completed the questionnaire was almost twice as high (157/246, 63.8% vs 179/518, 34.6%, P<.001).ConclusionsWeb-based surveys offer many advantages such as reduced response time, higher completeness of data, and large cost savings, but our findings suggest that postal surveys can be still considered for GP research. The use of mixed-mode approaches is probably a good strategy to increase GPs’ participation in surveys while reducing costs.

An Internet‐Based Survey to Assess Clinicians’ Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Opioid‐Induced Hypogonadism

“…Our survey yielded a response rate of 23.7%, which falls between reported response rates for Internet‐based surveys of physicians, ranging between 20% and 35% . Those surveys sent as a personal invitation by a pain clinician practicing in the responder's own country yielded a better response rate than did those sent on behalf of the sponsor in a nonpersonal manner by a scientific organization to their members.…”

Perspectives of online surveys in dermatology

“…Natives, men, traditional families, younger people recorded a higher response rate compared to immigrants, women, untraditional families and older people (Fig. ) …”

“…In addition, investigators can conduct online surveys in a timely fashion, since no manual handling is needed in distribution or collection, and responses appear to the investigators at the time of their submission . This can allow performing preliminary data analyses or work on other tasks while waiting for the data collection closing date …”

“…Further, the quality of data in online surveys is better than paper methods, because online surveys lack the mistakes that come from transferring the collected data to computers …”

“…Furthermore, online surveying is very suitable for epidemiological studies that necessitate wide geographical coverage and large sample size using a fast and cost‐effective manner …”