The Influence of Advance Letters on Response in Telephone Surveys: A Meta-Analysis

Leeuw, Edith D. de; Callegaro, Mario; Hox, Joop J.; Korendijk, Elly J. H.; Lensvelt-Mulders, Gerty

doi:10.1093/poq/nfm014

Cited by 110 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(25 reference statements)

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“…In advance of the actual recruitment, a postcard was delivered to most of the selected neighbourhoods to alert people to our study in hopes of producing a better response rate (e.g. de Leeuw, Hox, Korendijk and Lensvelt-Mulders, 2005). Addresses assigned to the door-to-door approach were grouped together by streets for logistical ease.…”

Section: Sample and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of survey description, administration format, and exclusionary criteria on population prevalence rates of problem gambling

Williams

Volberg

2009

International Gambling Studies

141

164

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The present study investigated the impact of survey administration format, survey description and gambling behaviour thresholds on obtained population prevalence rates of problem gambling. A total of 3028 adults were surveyed about their gambling behaviour, with half of these surveys administered face-to-face and half over the telephone, and half of the surveys being described as a 'gambling survey' and half as a 'health and recreation' survey. Population prevalence rates of problem gambling using the CPGI were 133% higher in 'gambling' vs 'health and recreation' surveys and 55% higher in face-to-face administration compared to telephone administration. If people with less than Can$300 in annual gambling expenditures are not asked questions about problem gambling, then the obtained problem gambling prevalence rate is 42% lower. When all of these elements are aligned they result in markedly different problem gambling prevalence rates (4.1% vs 0.8%). The mechanisms for these effects and recommended procedures for future prevalence studies are discussed.

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Section: Sample and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of survey description, administration format, and exclusionary criteria on population prevalence rates of problem gambling

Williams

Volberg

2009

International Gambling Studies

141

164

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“…Other strategies can be utilized to minimize nonresponse, such as using more experienced interviewers, mailing advance letters to notify sampled subjects about the study prior to contact, or providing monetary incentives ([18], [19], [20], [21]). However, if these strategies are more effective for some particular subpopulations compared to others, a reduction in nonresponse through these strategies can actually increase nonresponse bias.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unit Nonresponse in a Population-Based Study of Prostate Cancer

Oral

Simonsen²,

Brennan

et al. 2016

PLoS ONE

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Low unit response rates can increase bias and compromise study validity. Response rates have continued to fall over the past decade despite all efforts to increase participation. Many factors have been linked to reduced response, yet relatively few studies have employed multivariate approaches to identify characteristics that differentiate respondents from nonrespondents since it is hard to collect information on the latter. We aimed to assess factors contributing to enrollment of prostate cancer (PCa) patients. We combined data from the North Carolina-Louisiana (LA) PCa Project’s LA cohort, with additional sources such as US census tract and LA tumor registry data. We included specific analyses focusing on blacks, a group often identified as hard to enroll in health-related research. The ability to study the effect of Hurricane Katrina, which occurred amidst enrollment, as a potential determinant of nonresponse makes our study unique. Older age (≥ 70) for blacks (OR 0.65) and study phase with respect to Hurricane Katrina for both races (OR 0.59 for blacks, OR 0.48 for whites) were significant predictors of participation with lower odds. Neighborhood poverty for whites (OR 1.53) also was a significant predictor of participation, but with higher odds. Among blacks, residence in Orleans parish was associated with lower odds of participation (OR 0.33) before Katrina. The opposite occurred in whites, with lower odds (OR 0.43) after Katrina. Our results overall underscore the importance of tailoring enrollment approaches to specific target population characteristics to confront the challenges posed by nonresponse. Our results also show that recruitment-related factors may change when outside forces bring major alterations to a population's environment and demographics.

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“…For example, we were unable to use two elements of survey design that generally increase survey participation. These include personalized, advance notification letters that explain the purpose of the study and how the results will be used (De Leeuw et al 2007), and a monetary or non-monetary incentive (Heberlein and Baumgartner 1978;Singer et al 1999;Singer, Van Hoewyk, and Maher 2000).…”

Section: Discussion On Potential Non-response Biasmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Investigation of Community Attitudes Toward Blast Noise. General Community Survey, Study Site 1

Nykaza¹,

Valente²,

Swift³

et al. 2012

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Current blast noise assessment procedures at military installations in the United States do not fully meet the military's noise management needs; military blast noise sometimes disturbs surrounding communities, resulting in legal actions against US military installations. Specifically, current procedures do not accurately capture the way humans respond to blast events, and do not adequately account for the level, number, timing, and spatial variability of blast noise events. This work constructed and administered the General Community Survey (GCS) within SERDP Project WP-1546 at the first of three military installations to determine how blast noise levels affect general community annoyance and how the community reaction changes over time in response to a dynamic blast noise environment. The results indicate that, while blast noise was the most annoying noise source around this installation, current blast noise assessment metrics are weakly correlated with community annoyance, and a large percentage of the study population were highly annoyed at relatively low C-weighted Day-Night blast noise levels. Current findings highlight the importance of capturing temporal and spatial variation of the both stimulus and response, and also of non-acoustical factors such as habituation and vibration.

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The Influence of Advance Letters on Response in Telephone Surveys: A Meta-Analysis

Cited by 110 publications

References 30 publications

Impact of survey description, administration format, and exclusionary criteria on population prevalence rates of problem gambling

Impact of survey description, administration format, and exclusionary criteria on population prevalence rates of problem gambling

Unit Nonresponse in a Population-Based Study of Prostate Cancer

An Investigation of Community Attitudes Toward Blast Noise. General Community Survey, Study Site 1

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