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Effects of an Introductory Letter on Response Rates to a Teen/Parent Telephone Health Survey

Joni A. Mayer

Elizabeth Clapp

San Diego State University

The authors conducteda pilotstudyin preparationfor a larger investigationthatwill rely ontelephone surveys to assess select health behaviors of teens and their parents, with a focus on indoor tanning. This study used a randomized design to assess the impact of a presurvey letter on response rates to a telephone survey, as well as prevalence estimates of ever having used an indoortanningfacility. The letter didnothavea significanteffect onresponserates or prevalence estimates in the two cities under study. Findings suggest that researchers should not assume that a letter sent in advance of a telephone survey will necessarily increase response rates enough to justify their use.

Key Words: response rate • cooperation rate • telephone survey • presurvey letter

References

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• Kennedy, J. M., R. B. Parks, N. Bannister, J. Inghram, and H. Terhune. 1998. An analysis of the effect of varying pre-survey letter characteristics on cooperation rates. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Public Opinion Research, St. Louis, MO.
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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (1) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Woodruff, S. I. Articles by Clapp, E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Woodruff, S. I. Articles by Clapp, E. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?