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Research Methods STA630

Lesson 22

SELF ADMINISTERED QUESTIONNAIRES (CONTINUED)

Increasing Response Rate

Here are some guidelines for increasing the response rate. Response rate is the number of

questionnaires returned or completed, divided by the total number of eligible people who were

contacted or asked to participate in the survey.

Cover Letter

The cover letter that accompanies the questionnaire or is printed on the first page of the questionnaire is

an important means of inducing a reader to complete and return the questionnaire. In the letter tell why

the study is important, who is sponsoring the study, how was the respondent selected, assuring the

anonymity of the respondent could help in establishing rapport and motivating the respondent to

respond.

A personalized letter addressed to a specific individual shows the respondent that he or she is important.

Including an individually typed letter on letterhead versus printed form is an important element in

increasing the response rate in mail surveys.

Money Helps

The respondent's motivation for returning a questionnaire may be increased by offering monetary

incentives or premiums. Although pens, lottery tickets, and variety of premiums have been used,

monetary incentives appear to be the most effective and least biasing incentive. It attracts the attention

and creates a sense of obligation. Money incentive works for all income categories.

Interesting Questions

The topic of the research and thus the point of the questions cannot be manipulated without changing

thee problem definition. However, certain interesting questions can be added to the questionnaire,

perhaps in the beginning, to stimulate the respondents' interest and to induce cooperation.

Follow-Ups

Follow-up implies the communication of the message to respondents through different means for the

return of questionnaire. After responses from the first wave of mailing begin to trickle-in, most studies

use follow-up, reminder for getting the response. A follow-up may include a duplicate questionnaire or

may merely be a reminder to return thee original questionnaire. Multiple contacts almost always

increase response rates. The more attempts made to reach people, the greater the chances of their

responding.

Preliminary Notification

Advance notification, by either letter or telephone, that a questionnaire will be arriving has bee

successful in increasing the response rates in some situations. Advance notices that go out close to the

questionnaire mailing time produce better results than those sent too far in advance. This technique

presupposes a certain level of development of the country where such facilities are available. Even

otherwise, it depends upon the nature of the study as well as the type of respondents selected for the

study.

Survey Sponsorship

Sponsorship of the study makes a difference for motivating the respondents to return thee

questionnaires. It depends upon the goodwill of the sponsoring agency that can activate/deactivate the

respondent to fill the questionnaire and return it. There is some evidence that "official" and "respected"

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Research Methods STA630

sponsorship increases the response rate. Sponsorship by well-known and prestigious organizations,

such as universities or government agencies, may significantly influence response rates.

Return Envelopes

The inclusion of a stamped, self addressed envelop encourages response because it simplifies

questionnaire return.

Postage

The existing evidence shows that expedited delivery is very effective in increasing response rate. First

class or third class mail, stamped mail or metered mail may make a difference.

Personalization

Personalization of the mailing has no clear-cut advantage in terms of improved response rates. Neither

personal inside addresses nor individually signed cover letters significantly increased response rates;

personally typed cover letters proved to be somewhat effective.

Size, Reproduction, and Color

The size of the paper, the printing, and color may have some effect, though not significant, on the

response rate. It is recommended to use the A-4 size paper and while sending it do not fold it. The

attractive printing may be another factor influencing the return rate. If questionnaire has different parts,

the use of different colors of paper may motivate the respondents to take interest in the study and return

the questionnaire.

The manipulation of one or two techniques independently of all others may do little to stimulate

response. May be the researcher has to make use of all the possible techniques simultaneously, so that

the response rate could be increased. Such an effort is referred to as Total Design Effort (TDE).

E-Mail Surveys

Questionnaires can be distributed via e-mail. E-mail is relatively new method of communication, and

many individuals cannot be reached this way. However, certain projects lend themselves to, such as

internal surveys of employees or satisfaction surveys of retail buyers who regularly deal with an

organization via e-mail.

The benefits of an e-mail include speed of distribution, lower distribution and processing cost, faster

turnaround time, more flexibility, and less handling of paper questionnaires.

Many respondents may feel that they can be more candid in e-mail than in person or on telephone, for

the same reason they are candid on other self administered questionnaires.

In many organizations the employees know that their e-mails are not secure, that "eves-dropping" by a

supervisor could occur. Further maintaining the respondent's anonymity is difficult, because a reply to

an e-mail message typically includes the sender's address. Researchers designing e-mail surveys should

assure respondents that their responses will be confidential.

Not all e-mail systems have the same capacity: some handle color and graphics well; others are limited

to text. The extensive differences in the capabilities of respondents' computers and email software limit

the types of questions and the layout of thee questionnaire.

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Research Methods STA630

Internet Surveys

An internet survey is a self-administered questionnaire posted on a Web site. Respondents provide

answers to questions displayed on screen by highlighting a phrase, clicking an icon, or keying in an

answer. Like any other survey, Internet surveys have both advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages of Internet Surveys

Speed and Cost Effectiveness: Internet survey allow the marketers to reach a large audience (possible

a global one), to personalize the individual messages, and to secure confidential answers quickly and

cost effectively. The computer to computer self administered questionnaires eliminate the cost of paper,

postage, data entry, and other administrative costs. Once an Internet questionnaire has been developed,

the incremental cost of reaching additional respondents is marginal. Hence samples can be larger than

with interviews or other types of self-administered questionnaires.

Visual Appeal and Interactivity: Surveys conducted on Internet can be interactive. The researcher

can use more sophisticated lines of questioning based on the respondents' prior answers. Many of this

interactive survey utilize color, sound, and animation, which may help to increase the respondents'

cooperation and willingness to spend more time answering questions. The Internet is an excellent

medium fort he presentation of visual materials, such as photographs or drawings of product prototypes,

advertisements, and movie trailers.

Respondent Participation and Cooperation: Participation in some Internet surveys occurs because

computer users intentionally navigate to a particular Web site where questions are displayed. In some

instances individuals expect to encounter a survey at a Web site; in other cases it is totally unexpected.

Accurate Real-Time Data Capture: The computer to computer nature of Internet surveys means that

each respondent's answers are entered directly into the researcher's computer as soon as the

questionnaire is submitted. In addition, the questionnaire software may be programmed to reject

improper data entry.

Real-time data capture allows for real-time data analysis. A researcher can review up-to-the minute

sample size counts and tabulation data from an Internet survey in real time.

Callbacks: When the sample for Internet survey is drawn from a consumer panel, it is easy to recontact

those who have not yet completed the questionnaire. Computer software can also identify the passwords

of those respondents who completed only a portion of the questionnaire and send those people

customized messages.

Personalized and Flexible Questioning: There is no interviewer in Internet surveys but thee

respondent interacts directly with thee software on a Web site. In other words the computer program

asks questions in sequence determined by a respondent's previous answer. The questions appear on the

computer screen, and answers are recorded by simply pressing a key clicking an icon, thus immediately

entering the data into thee computer's memory. This ability to sequence the question based on previous

responses is a major advantage of computer-assisted surveys.

Respondent Anonymity: Respondents are more likely to provide sensitive information when they can

remain anonymous. The anonymity of thee Internet encourages respondents to provide honest answers

to sensitive questions.

Most respondents do not feel threatening to enter information into the compute because of thee absence

of the interviewer. They may be assured that no human will ever see their individual responses.

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Research Methods STA630

Response Rate: Response rate can be increased by sending e-mail friendly reminders.

Disadvantages of Internet Surveys

All People cannot Participate: Many people in thee general public cannot access to Internet. And, all

people with Internet access do not have the same level of technology. Many lack powerful computers or

software that is compatible with advanced features programmed into many Internet questionnaires.

Some individuals have minimum computer skills. They may not know how to navigate through and

provide answers to an Internet questionnaire.

No Physical Incentive: Unlike mail surveys, Internet surveys do not offer the opportunity to send a

physical incentive to the respondent.

SELECTING THE APPROPRIATE SURVEY RESEARCH DESIGN

The choice of communication method is not as complicated as it might appear. By comparing the

research objectives with the strengths and weaknesses of each method, the researcher will be able to

choose one that is suited to thee needs. Nevertheless, there no "best" form of survey. Each has

advantages and disadvantages. A researcher who must ask highly confidential questions ay conduct a

mail survey, thus trading off the speed of data collection to avoid any possibility of interviewer bias.

To determine the appropriate technique, thee researcher must ask questions such as "Is the assistance of

an interviewer necessary? Are respondents likely to be interested in the issues being investigating?

Will cooperation be easily attained? How quickly the information is needed? Will the study require a

ling complex questionnaire? How large is the budget?" The criteria cost, speed, anonymity, and the

like may be different for each project.

If none of the choices turns out to be a particularly good fit, it is possible to combine the best

characteristics of two or more alternatives into a mixed mode. Although this decision will incur the costs

of the combined modes, thee flexibility of tailoring a method to the unique need of the project is often

an acceptable trade off.