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- Title
Is a Questionnaire Necessary in a Second Mailing?
- Authors
Heberlein, Thomas A.; Baumgartner, Robert
- Abstract
Mailed questionnaire research has shown the effectiveness of a reminder on responses, but it is not clear whether including a replacement questionnaire along with the reminder letter enhances effectiveness. If there is no difference in response to reminders with and without a second copy of the instrument, then practitioners can save postage by not including a second instrument and a postage-paid return envelope. If there were increases in response, it would be useful to document their magnitude so that the investigator can decide if the increase was worth the extra cost. A reminder letter with no questionnaire influences perceived importance but does not lower cost. Thus, the increase in response due to a second mailing without a questionnaire can be attributed to perceived importance, and the increase due to an inclusion of a questionnaire to both reduced costs and increased importance. Determining the increment in response due to inclusion of a second questionnaire compared to the effect of a letter alone gives an index of the relative importance of these two variables.
- Subjects
POSTAL rates; COPYING; LETTER services; QUESTIONNAIRES; COST effectiveness; PARCEL post
- Publication
Public Opinion Quarterly, 1981, Vol 45, Issue 1, p102
- ISSN
0033-362X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1086/268637