Student Survey Response Rates across Institutions: Why Do they Vary?

While many studies have examined nonresponse in student surveys, little research investigates why some schools achieve higher student survey response rates than other schools. Using hierarchical linear modeling, we analyze survey data from 321 institutions that participated in the 2003 National Survey of Student Engagement to understand how characteristics of colleges and universities relate to student survey response rates. We find that the makeup of the student body, as well as institutional characteristics such public/private status and urban location affects response rates, and that the number of computers per undergraduate has a strong positive effect for web survey response rates.

[1]  P. Blau.  Exchange and Power in Social Life , 1964 .

[2]  T. Heberlein,et al.  Factors affecting response rates to mailed questionnaires: A quantitative analysis of the published literature. , 1978 .

[3]  Paul B. Sheatsley,et al.  Nonresponse Bias for Attitude Questions , 1981 .

[4]  H. Cooper,et al.  A Quantitative Review of Research Design Effects on Response Rates to Questionnaires , 1983 .

[5]  L. Sharp,et al.  Respondent Burden: A Test of Some Common Assumptions , 1983 .

[6]  J. Goyder,et al.  Surveys on Surveys: Limitations and Potentialities , 1986 .

[7]  Nona Tollefson,et al.  Response bias in college freshmen's responses to mail surveys , 1987 .

[8]  M. Crask,et al.  MAIL SURVEY RESPONSE RATE A META-ANALYSIS OF SELECTED TECHNIQUES FOR INDUCING RESPONSE , 1988 .

[9]  R. Andersen,et al.  The Silent Minority: Nonrespondents on Sample Surveys.By John Goyder. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press. 232 pp. $39.00 , 1990 .

[10]  Terry L. Childers,et al.  Understanding mail survey response behavior: A meta-analysis. , 1991 .

[11]  Robert M. Groves,et al.  UNDERSTANDING THE DECISION TO PARTICIPATE IN A SURVEY , 1992 .

[12]  J. Hoek,et al.  THE BEHAVIOR OF RESPONDENTS, NONRESPONDENTS, AND REFUSERS ACROSS MAIL SURVEYS , 1992 .

[13]  Anthony S. Bryk,et al.  Hierarchical Linear Models: Applications and Data Analysis Methods , 1992 .

[14]  E. Borgida,et al.  Survey topic involvement and nonresponse bias , 1993 .

[15]  Eric L. Dey.  Working with Low Survey Response Rates: The Efficacy of Weighting Adjustments , 1995 .

[16]  Robert M. Groves,et al.  Social environmental impacts on survey cooperation , 1996 .

[17]  J. S. Long,et al.  Regression Models for Categorical and Limited Dependent Variables , 1997 .

[18]  Robert M. Groves,et al.  Nonresponse in Household Interview Surveys: Groves/Nonresponse , 1998 .

[19]  J. Krosnick,et al.  Survey research. , 1999, Annual review of psychology.

[20]  E. Singer,et al.  Differential Incentives: Beliefs about Practices, Perceptions of Equity, and Effects on Survey Participation , 1999 .

[21]  Ronald H. Heck,et al.  An Introduction to Multilevel Modeling Techniques , 1999 .

[22]  E. Singer,et al.  The effects of response rate changes on the index of consumer sentiment. , 2000, Public opinion quarterly.

[23]  E. Singer,et al.  Experiments with incentives in telephone surveys. , 2000, Public opinion quarterly.

[24]  E. Singer,et al.  Leverage-saliency theory of survey participation: description and an illustration. , 2000, Public opinion quarterly.

[25]  Shouping Hu,et al.  The Effects of Student-Faculty Interaction In the 1990s , 2001 .

[26]  Paul D. Umbach,et al.  How Do Academic Departments Impact Student Satisfaction? Understanding the Contextual Effects of Departments , 2001 .

[27]  Cihan Cobanoglu,et al.  A Comparison of Mail, Fax and Web-Based Survey Methods , 2001 .

[28]  George D. Kuh.  Assessing What Really Matters to Student Learning Inside The National Survey of Student Engagement , 2001 .

[29]  David M. Shannon,et al.  A Comparison of Response Rate, Response Time, and Costs of Mail and Electronic Surveys , 2002 .

[30]  K. Warriner,et al.  Evaluating Socio-economic Status (SES) Bias in Survey Nonresponse , 2002 .

[31]  Patrick Van Kenhove,et al.  The influence of topic involvement on mail survey response behavior , 2002 .

[32]  T. Koepsell,et al.  Characteristics of telephone survey respondents according to willingness to participate. , 2003, American journal of epidemiology.

[33]  Shannon K. Gilmartin,et al.  Assessing Response Rates and Nonresponse Bias in Web and Paper Surveys , 2003 .

[34]  John C. Hayek,et al.  College Student Responses to Web and Paper Surveys: Does Mode Matter? , 2003 .

[35]  Susan A. Ariew,et al.  National Survey of Student Engagement , 2003 .

[36]  Stephen R. Porter,et al.  The Impact of Lottery Incentives on Student Survey Response Rates , 2003 .

[37]  Gregory C. Wolniak,et al.  Do Liberal Arts Colleges Really Foster Good Practices in Undergraduate Education? , 2004 .

[38]  Carol A. Lundberg,et al.  Quality and Frequency of Faculty-Student Interaction as Predictors of Learning: An Analysis by Student Race/Ethnicity , 2004 .

[39]  R. Groves,et al.  The Role of Topic Interest in Survey Participation Decisions , 2004 .

[40]  Stephen R. Porter,et al.  Multiple Surveys of Students and Survey Fatigue. , 2004 .

[41]  Ernest T. Pascarella,et al.  How College Affects Students: A Third Decade of Research. Volume 2. , 2005 .

[42]  Stephen R. Porter,et al.  Non-response in student surveys: The Role of Demographics, Engagement and Personality , 2005 .

[43]  Stephen R. Porter.  INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES AND STUDENT ENGAGEMENT , 2006 .

[44]  John C. Hayek,et al.  Institutional Selectivity and Good Practices in Undergraduate Education: How Strong is the Link? , 2006 .

[45]  George D. Kuh,et al.  Student Experiences with Diversity at Liberal Arts Colleges: Another Claim for Distinctiveness , 2006 .

[46]  Jelke Bethlehem,et al.  Nonresponse in household surveys. , 2006 .

[47]  P. Chisnall.  Mail and Internet Surveys: The Tailored Design Method , 2007, Journal of Advertising Research.