Sharp, L. M. and Frankel, J. Search for other works … New York: Wiley. (eds. Blass T, Leichtman SR, Brown RA. Immediate online access to all issues from 2019. Respondents answering items that are included in … All rights reserved. Sletto, R. F. (1940). Google Scholar. Address correspondence to Mirta Galesic; e-mail: Search for other works by this author on: © The Author 2009. PubMed  Backstrom, C. H. and Hursh-Cesar, G. (1981). Respondent burden: a test of some common assumptions. Public Opinion Quarterly 38: 113–123. Song, Fiona Bull , E. Adams, J. Preston School of Population and Global Health (eds. American Sociological Review 43: 447–462. Effect of questionnaire length, personalisation and reminder type on response rate to a complex postal survey: randomised controlled trial BMC Medical Research Methodology, 2011 Yena Song The effects of the survey design factors on response were examined using multivariate logistic regression. Improving participation rates in epidemiologic studies using questionnaires and biological sampling is important for the generalizability of the outcome. Journal of the Market Research Society 29: 35–54. Questionnaire construction and item writing. Methods. Cannell, C. F. and Kahn, R. L. (1968). Influence of the interviewer on the accuracy of survey results. Year 2010. Heberlein, T. A. and Baumgartner, R. (1978). Jamshid S Kalantar, Nicholas J Talley Volume 52, Issue 11, Pages 1117-1122 (November 1999) Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription. Interviewing. 1996. Item nonresponse in a consumer survey. These include questionnaire length and comprehension, publicity and implementation. Ideological Bubbles and Two Types of Conservatives, The Consequences of Personality Biases in Online Panels for Measuring Public Opinion. Interviewer Strategies on the Doorstep. Each of these response scales has its own advantages and disadvantages, but the rule of thumb is that the best response scale to use is the one which can be easily understood by respondents and interpreted by the researcher. To purchase short term access, please sign in to your Oxford Academic account above. Survey textbooks suggest that long questionnaires should be avoided, and a careful reading of the available empirical evidence confirms the negative effects of substantial length on both response rates and the quality of those responses which are obtained. Data is presented from a lengthy survey in Britain in 1987. "The effect of questionnaire length on survey response," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. Fiona Bull. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of questionnaire length, personalisation and reminder type on postal survey response rate and quality and to compare the cost-effectiveness of the alternative survey strategies. Postal survey procedures. Effects of questionnaire length on response quality. Results An overall response rate of 17% was achieved. Introduction: Web-based epidemiologic surveys are being widely used, but still present lower response rates compared to traditional methods.Their design can influence survey response rates. Access date 16.05.2014. Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, 1992, vol. The interactive effects of monetary incentive justification and questionnaire length on mail survey response rates. The results are interpreted as resulting from the greater power that respondents gain as the survey proceeds. American Sociological Review 47: 550–553. This paper investigates how expected and actual questionnaire length affects cooperation rates and a variety of indicators of data quality in web surveys. In order to more fully understand the possible effects of survey length, fatigue, and subsequent response quality, SSI recently fielded two surveys: one long and one short. However, no effect of length was found on item quality as measured by the number of responses given to open-ended questions. Hanson, R. H. and Marks, E. S. (1958). Stated length of the questionnaire in the invitation letter could have a higher impact on response rate than the actual questionnaire length. The research reported here was funded by the ESRC and conducted by Public Attitude Surveys Limited. B., Basilevsky, A. and Hum, D. (1983). In E. G. Hoinville and R. Jowell (eds. 26, issue 3, 233-244 Date: 1992 References: View complete reference list from CitEc Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3) Track citations by RSS feed. Participants who received the short version of the questionnaire were more likely to respond (OR = 1.48, 95% CI 1.06 to 2.07). The effects of the survey design factors on response were examined using multivariate logistic regression. The Effects of Lottery Incentive and Length of Questionnaire on Health Survey Response Rates: A Randomized Study. Sirken, M. G., Pifer, J. W. and Brown, M. L. (1960). © 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG. Bradburn, N. (1977). Effect of questionnaire length, personalisation and reminder type on response rate to a complex postal survey: a randomised controlled trial Background: Minimising participant non-response to postal surveys is important to ensure the generalisability of the inferences made from the data collected. (1986). In P. Rossi et al. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Corruption, Opportunity Networks, and Gender: Proximity, NIMBYism, and Public Support for Energy Infrastructure, About the American Association for Public Opinion Research, Receive exclusive offers and updates from Oxford Academic, Copyright © 2021 American Association for Public Opinion Research. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Association for Public Opinion Research. Longer questionnaires result in higher data collection costs and greater respondent burden and may lead to lower response rates and diminished quality of response. J Soc Psychol 1981;113:213-6. length, same sponsor and conducting organization, and same methodology to assess whether response rates have changed between 1996 and 2003. Meta-analyses indicate that longer questionnaires are associated with lower response rates (Heberlein and Baumgartner 1978; Yammarino, Skinner, and Childers 1991). London: Heinemann. The Effect of Questionnaire Length on Response Rates: A Review of the Literature. We wished to test the hypothesis that the addition of an instant lottery ticket, as a monetary incentive, and a shorter version of the questionnaire would cumulatively increase the response rate in mailed health surveys. Ultimately, the length of a survey is a matter of perception. Probably the easiest way around this issue is to put yourself in your respondents’ shoes. Mason, W. S., Dressel, R. J. and Bain, R. K. (1961). Layne, B. H. and Thompson, D. N. (1981). SMS Survey Software Use the power of SMS to send surveys to your respondents at the click of a button. Response biases can have a large impact on the validity of questionnaires or surveys.. Downloads: (external link) Email Survey Software Robust email survey software & tool to create email surveys, collect automated and real-time data and analyze results to gain valuable feedback and actionable insights! Public Opinion Quarterly 47: 36–53. These biases are prevalent in research involving participant self-report, such as structured interviews or surveys. The elderly respondent: experiences from a largescale survey of the aged. Research Methods in the Behavioral Sciences. New York: Academic Press. - 136.144.142.122. Research on mail surveys. Journal of Applied Psychology 58: 278–280. Response burden is often defined as the effort required by the patient to answer a questionnaire. Subscription will auto renew annually. Questionnaire construction. Gibson, D. M. and Aitkenhead, W. (1983). You do not currently have access to this article. In this study, researchers analyzed the effects of questionnaire length on response rate in a mail survey of the U.S. cabinet industry. Obtaining the survey interview. We aimed to evaluate the effects of lottery … Goyder, J. C. (1982). As a field of applied statistics concentrating on human-research surveys, survey methodology studies the sampling of individual units from a population and associated techniques of survey data collection, such as questionnaire construction and methods for improving the number and accuracy of responses to surveys. (1982). Sheatsley, P. B. This has been hypothesized to be caused by a psychological effect of a too-short IM on potential respondents (Mond, Rodgers, Hay, Owen, & Beumont, 2004). Paul M. Biner. SM96-05 Karen Bogen Introduction. Although frequently used, entry into a prize draw did not increase response. Objectives: To examine the effect of reducing questionnaire length on the response rate in a physician survey. Research on Ageing 5: 283–296. Galesic et al. Longer questionnaires result in higher data collection costs and greater respondent burden and may lead to lower response rates and diminished quality of response. You could not be signed in. We aimed to evaluate the effects of lottery incentive and length of questionnaire on health survey response rates when used in isolation or combined. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00172427, Over 10 million scientific documents at your fingertips, Not logged in A quantitative review of research design effects on response rates to questionnaires. B. Rossi, P. H., Wright, J. D. and Anderson, A. (1971). Qual Quant 26, 233–244 (1992). Courtenay, G. (1978). Effects of alternative positioning of open-ended questions in multiple-choice questionnaires. Paul M. Biner. Social and Mental Health. Corresponding Author. American Sociological Review 39: 44–56. This study replicated a ground-breaking study conducted in 2004 by Sandra Rathod and Andrea la Bruna which concluded, among other things, that data quality suffers as interview length increases. Billiet, J. and Loosveldt, G. (1988). Numerous studies had shown significant effect of questionnaire length on response rates in mail surveys. Moreover, the serial position of questions was predicted to influence four indicators of data quality. Response bias is a general term for a wide range of tendencies for participants to respond inaccurately or falsely to questions. Mail and Telephone Surveys: The Total Design Method. Survey textbooks suggest that long questionnaires should be avoided, and a careful reading of the available empirical evidence confirms the negative effects of substantial length on both response rates and the quality of those responses which are obtained. Burchell, B., Marsh, C. The effect of questionnaire length on survey response. Minimising participant non-response in postal surveys helps to maximise the generalisability of the inferences made from the data collected. Effect of questionnaire length, personalisation and reminder type on response rate to a complex postal survey: randomised controlled trial S. Sahlqvist, Y. A random sample of 440 residents in Western Sydney, Australia was randomly allocated to four equal groups to receive or not receive an instant lottery ticket and a long (seven page) or short (one page) questionnaire. Roper, B. Title Questionnaire Length, Fatigue Effects and Response Quality Revisited. Dillman, D. A. Festinger, L. and Katz, D. (1965). Personalizing the … The interactive effects of monetary incentive justification and questionnaire length on mail survey response rates. The aim of this study was to investigate whether questionnaire length and/or the offer of an incentive improves the response of GPs to a postal questionnaire survey. In multivariate logistic regression analyses, of the three survey design factors examined, questionnaire length had the strongest independent influence on response rate: the odds of response were approximately 50% higher for the short version of the questionnaire compared with the long version (OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.06 to 2.07: Table … The present study provides additional data on the effects of stated length on response and completion rates in web surveys… The Effect of Survey Length on Response Rate The length of a survey can be defined in multiple ways: the number of questions, the number and size of pages, the average number of items requiring response, etc. Article  Please check your email address / username and password and try again. London: Heinemann. The blocks were randomized for each respondent so that the effect of survey length on response quality could be investigated by comparing whether the different order of the blocks led to different response patterns as the block position varied in the survey. (2001). Study Design and Setting: A postal four double-page questionnaire on end-of-life decision making was sent to a random sample of 1,100 general practitioners, 400 … Two independent samples of medium-size cabinet producers (< $20 million in sales and > 10 employees) were randomly selected from the same population and sent two separate questionnaires of differing lengths. volume 26, pages233–244(1992)Cite this article. Survey Research, 2nd edition. If you originally registered with a username please use that to sign in. (1970). Methods in Social Research. An experimental study of factors affecting response to a mail survey of beginning teachers. There is a significant decrease in response rates for questionnaires longer than 4 pages (Yammarino, Skinner&Childers, 91). (1983). DOAJ is an online directory that indexes and provides access to quality open access, peer-reviewed journals. ABSTRACT. A factor that has been proposed to affect the response burden is questionnaire length, and this burden is manifested in, for example, response rate. Participants who received the short version of the questionnaire were more likely to respond (OR=1.48, 95% CI 1.06 to 2.07). BMC Med Res Methodol. Brendan Burchell and Catherine Marsh. ABSTRACT. Public Opinion Quarterly 25: 296–299. Interviewer variability: the North Yorkshire experiment. Effect of questionnaire length, personalisation and reminder type on response rate to a complex postal survey: randomised controlled trial. Kraut, A. I., Wolfson, A. D. and Rothenberg, A. Factors affecting response rates to mailed questionnaires: a quantitative analysis of the published literature. In addition, questions near the end of long questionnaires may be processed differently from the questions near the beginning (Helgeson and Ursic 1994), leading to higher rates of “don't knows” (Krosnick et al. RESULTS: An overall response rate of 17% was achieved. A few questions remain unanswered concerning survey response rates and survey length. We hypothesized that the expected length of a web-based questionnaire is negatively related to the initial willingness to participate. In addition, answers to questions positioned later in the questionnaire were faster, shorter, and more uniform than answers to questions positioned near the beginning. Participants who received the short version of the questionnaire were more likely to respond (OR=1.48, 95% CI 1.06 to 2.07). The effect of questionnaire length on survey response. Journal of Applied Psychology 59: 776–778. Effects of questionnaire length on response rates: Review of findings and guidelines for future research Mirta Galešic Department of Psychology University of Zagreb, Croatia mirta.galesic@zg.tel.hr Introduction It is generally assumed that questionnaire length has a significant effect on survey response rate. By Public Attitude surveys Limited structural modelling approach rate to a complex postal survey: randomised controlled.! Significant disincentive to respond ( OR=1.48, 95 % CI 1.06 to )!, E. Adams, J. and Loosveldt, G. and Jowell, R. ( 1978 ) into a prize did!: 505–538 for both questionnaires questionnaires is key in survey research, Public Library of Science Ball... Section is a significant decrease in response rates and related rates in Telephone... Young, P. K. ( 1961 ) an existing account, or purchase an subscription. British developments in Methodology rate: a Review and Synthesis: New Directions for Sociology! 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( 1974 ) diminished quality of response survey measures: a Review of design! Costs, and data quality COVID-19, relevant existing conditions, and same Methodology to assess whether rates... Or falsely to questions in RDD Telephone surveys: a test of some common assumptions who... Factors affecting response rates to mailed questionnaires: a randomized controlled trial, Roscoe, D.... From the data collected Hare, A. P. ( 1974 ) response effects in surveys: can segmentation experimentation.