Title | Response to mail surveys: effect of a request to explain refusal to participate. The ARIC Study Investigators. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 1993 |
Authors | Shahar E, Bisgard KM, Folsom AR |
Journal | Epidemiology |
Volume | 4 |
Issue | 5 |
Pagination | 480-2 |
Date Published | 1993 Sep |
ISSN | 1044-3983 |
Keywords | Cooperative Behavior, Epidemiologic Methods, Health Surveys, Humans, Postal Service, Surveys and Questionnaires |
Abstract | As part of a mailed health survey, we investigated the effect on the response rate of a request to explain refusal to participate. Subjects (N = 1,240) were randomized either to receive or not to receive, with the first mailing, a letter requesting an explanation of their decision not to fill out the questionnaire, if they chose that option. There was a slightly higher cumulative response during most of the study from subjects who had been sent the request, but little difference between the two study groups in the ultimate response rate [80% from the intervention group vs 83% from the control group; response rate difference = -3%; 95% confidence limits (CL) = -7%, 1%]. Of 209 individuals who were sent the request and did not return the questionnaire, only 15 (7%) sent back an explanation. A request to explain a refusal to participate in a mail survey neither jeopardized the response rate nor enhanced it. |
Alternate Journal | Epidemiology |
PubMed ID | 8399698 |
Grant List | N0-HC-55019 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States |