THE EFFECT OF MONETARY INCENTIVES AND FOLLOW-UP MAILINGS ON THE RESPONSE RATE AND RESPONSE QUALITY IN MAIL SURVEYS

The joint and comparative effects of the use of mone- tary incentives and follow-up mailings were examined in a mail survey of suburban Washington, DC cable television subscribers. Four experimental groups received monetary incentives enclosed with the first mailing only ($0.25, $0.50, $1.00, or $2.00) and three follow-up mailings. These groups were compared with each other and against a control group that did not receive an incentive. The results indicated that the response rate from the first mailing in- creased significantly as the incentive amount increased from zero to $0.25, and from $0.25 to $1.00. Four mailings without an incen- tive produced a higher response rate than a single mailing with an incentive, but a combination of follow-up mailings and a $1.00 or $2.00 incentive produced a significantly higher response rate than an equivalent number of mailings without an incentive. There was some evidence of intertreatment response bias. Larger monetary incentives tended to produce: (1) a greater de- gree of effort expended in completing the questionnaires, as mea- sured by the number of short answers and comments provided, and the number of words written, and (2) comments that were more favorable toward the survey sponsor.

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