Response Rate in Mail Survey:: The Effect of Four Variables

The present study investigated the effectiveness of mail survey technique in collecting data in Brasília, capitalcity of Brazil. Using a random sample of 480 addresses, the effects of four variables on the response rate were studied: (1)phone contact with the respondent, (2) type of the envelope use...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Velôso Gouveia, Valdiney, Günther, Hartmut
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2012
País:Brasil
Institución:Universidade de Brasília (UnB)
Repositorio:Psicologia (Universidade de Brasília. Online)
Idioma:portugués
OAI Identifier:oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/17244
Acceso en línea:https://periodicos.unb.br/index.php/revistaptp/article/view/17244
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Técnicas
Questionário
Correio
Techniques
Questionnaire
Mail
Descripción
Sumario:The present study investigated the effectiveness of mail survey technique in collecting data in Brasília, capitalcity of Brazil. Using a random sample of 480 addresses, the effects of four variables on the response rate were studied: (1)phone contact with the respondent, (2) type of the envelope used, (3) content of the introductory letter, and (4) saliency ofquestionnaire topic. The overall response rate was 21.5%, increasing to 30% when respondents were contacted by phone, eitherbefore or after the questionnaire had been mailed. The other variables had no significant influence on the response rate, and nointeraction effects between variables were observed. It was concluded that mail survey technique is an adequate procedure incollecting data amoung the population studied; however, additional studies are necessary to determine which other factorscontribute to an increase in voluntary response rates in the Brazilian milieu.