Impact of demographic survey questions on response rate and measurement: A randomized experiment

This article examines the impact of follow-up techniques (designed to increase the survey response rate) on uninformed responses to factual survey questions. Such questions of fact can be used as filters to measures a respondents base of information, knowledge or experience on a topic prior to measuring his/her opinions on that topic, but only if uninformed responses are less likely to be given to the factual filter questions than to the opinion/attitude questions. Previous research suggests that response pressure (including follow-up contact) tends to exacerbate the uninformed response rate to opinion or attitude questions. However, the research reported here suggests that is not so with factual questions; follow-up contract does not result in increased levels of uninformed response to questions of fact.

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Inpatient Rounding Practices in Otolaryngology Residency Programs

Otolaryngology ◽

10.1177/0194599817696295 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 156 (6) ◽

pp. 1032-1034 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Mofiyinfolu Sokoya ◽

Paul D. Judge ◽

Cristina Cabrera-Muffly ◽

Peter M. Vila

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Patient Safety ◽

Resident Education ◽

Response Rate ◽

Residency Programs ◽

Future Studies ◽

Survey Questions ◽

Bedside Rounds ◽

Attending Physicians ◽

Current Practices

Inpatient rounding is an agelong tradition in the field of medicine. Among recent changes in health care, rounding is understudied as an area of research. The purpose of this study was to assess current methods of inpatient rounding in otolaryngology residency programs and assess satisfaction with current practices. Survey questions were designed by members of the resident committee of the Society of University Otolaryngologists. Surveys were sent to all 450 members, and we obtained a 32% response rate. Sixty-four percent of attendings perform bedside rounds; 44% of subjects reported that attending physicians participate in rounds at least once a week; and 21% reported daily participation. When asked if attending participation in rounding is adequate, attendings did not have a strong opinion (mean = 3.8). There is a paucity of research on inpatient rounding, and future studies should examine specific practices with the goal of maximizing patient safety and resident education.

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Material Incentives and Other Potential Factors Associated With Response Rates to Internet Surveys of American Evaluation Association Members: Findings From a Randomized Experiment

American Journal of Evaluation ◽

10.1177/1098214018818371 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 41 (2) ◽

pp. 277-296 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Chris L. S. Coryn ◽

Lyssa W. Becho ◽

Carl D. Westine ◽

Pedro F. Mateu ◽

Ruqayyah N. Abu-Obaid ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Overall Response Rate ◽

Response Rate ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Response Rates ◽

Randomized Experiment ◽

Incentive Condition ◽

Evaluation Practice ◽

Internet Surveys ◽

Potential Factors ◽

The Cost

Internet surveys of American Evaluation Association (AEA) members are a common method for studying evaluation practice. Response rates obtained from Internet surveys of AEA members are, however, frequently very small. To investigate whether or not material incentives increase response rates to Internet surveys of AEA members, a between-subjects three-treatment and one control randomized experiment in which a randomly selected sample of AEA members were randomly assigned to a no-incentive control condition, lottery condition, token incentive condition, or philanthropic donation incentive condition was utilized. The overall response rate to the survey was 39.66% and the response rates for each of the four conditions were control = 36.24%, lottery = 44.39%, token incentive = 43.28%, and philanthropic donation = 34.67%, respectively. The cost-effectiveness of each of the four conditions also was examined, demonstrating that the lottery was the most cost-effective. Other factors potentially influencing response or nonresponse decisions also are discussed.

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Theory Survey or Survey Theory?

Political Science and Politics ◽

10.1017/s1049096510000120 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 43 (02) ◽

pp. 273-274

Author(s):

Jodi Dean

Keyword(s):

Political Theory ◽

Political Science ◽

Response Rate ◽

Colleges And Universities ◽

First Year ◽

Survey Questions ◽

New Information ◽

Very High ◽

Conditions Of Employment

Matthew Moore's survey of political theorists in U.S. American colleges and universities is an impressive contribution to political science (Moore 2010). It is the first such survey of political theory as a subfield, the response rate is very high, and the answers to the survey questions provide new information about how political theorists look when compared to political scientists overall. We are roughly the same age, for example, and are slightly more likely to be female. The survey also gives us a picture of political theorists' conditions of employment: about half of us get jobs in the first year upon receiving our Ph.D.s; most of us teach at schools that range from 1,000 to 10,000 students; most of us are not at Ph.D.-granting institutions.

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Incentive and Reminder Strategies to Improve Response Rate for Internet-Based Physician Surveys: A Randomized Experiment

Journal of Medical Internet Research ◽

10.2196/jmir.6318 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 18 (9) ◽

pp. e244 ◽

Cited By ~ 50

Author(s):

David A Cook ◽

Christopher M Wittich ◽

Wendlyn L Daniels ◽

Colin P West ◽

Ann M Harris ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Response Rate ◽

Randomized Experiment ◽

Improve Response Rate

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Survey Research

Anesthesiology ◽

10.1097/aln.0000000000002436 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 130 (2) ◽

pp. 192-202 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

David A. Story ◽

Alan R. Tait

Keyword(s):

Survey Research ◽

Mixed Methods Research ◽

Response Rate ◽

Research Question ◽

Target Population ◽

Adequate Response ◽

Survey Questions ◽

Margin Of Error ◽

Quantitative Results ◽

Attitudes And Knowledge

Abstract SUMMARY Surveys provide evidence on practice, attitudes, and knowledge. However, conducting good survey research is harder than it looks. The authors aim to provide guidance to both researchers and readers in conducting and interpreting survey research. Like all research, surveys should have clear research question(s) using the smallest possible number of high-quality, essential, survey questions (items) that will interest the target population. Both researchers and readers should put themselves in the position of the respondents. The survey questions should provide reproducible results (reliable), measure what they are supposed to measure (valid), and take less than 10 min to answer. Good survey research reports provide results with valid and reliable answers to the research question with an adequate response rate (at least 40%) and adequate precision (margin of error ideally 5% or less). Possible biases among those who did not respond (nonresponders) must be carefully analyzed and discussed. Quantitative results can be combined with qualitative results in mixed-methods research to provide greater insight.

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The Role of E-mail Communications in Determining Response Rates and Mode of Participation in a Mixed-mode Design

Field Methods ◽

10.1177/1525822x17726205 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 70-87 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Alexandru Cernat ◽

Peter Lynn

Keyword(s):

Mixed Mode ◽

Response Rate ◽

Randomized Experiment ◽

Face To Face ◽

Mode Design ◽

Survey Response Rate ◽

Survey Costs ◽

Mail Address ◽

E Mail

This article is concerned with the extent to which the propensity to participate in a web face-to-face sequential mixed-mode survey is influenced by the ability to communicate with sample members by e-mail in addition to mail. Researchers may be able to collect e-mail addresses for sample members and to use them subsequently to send survey invitations and reminders. However, there is little evidence regarding the value of doing so. This makes it difficult to decide what efforts should be made to collect such information and how to subsequently use it efficiently. Using evidence from a randomized experiment within a large mixed-mode national survey, we find that using a respondent-supplied e-mail address to send additional survey invites and reminders does not affect survey response rate but is associated with an increased proportion of responses by web rather than face-to-face and, hence, lower survey costs.

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Contemporary Australian priming constituents for adult perfusion centres: a survey

Perfusion ◽

10.1177/0267659120906043 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 35 (8) ◽

pp. 778-785 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Rona Steel ◽

Tri Bui

Keyword(s):

Sodium Bicarbonate ◽

Best Practice ◽

Response Rate ◽

Physiological Solution ◽

Clinical Effects ◽

Open Heart ◽

Survey Questions ◽

Base Solution ◽

The Ideal

Aim: Evidence for the ideal/best practice priming solution remains meagre and largely historical. The aim of this survey was to determine the constituents of contemporary priming solutions in adult open-heart centres across Australia. This would provide insight on the level of variation within current Australian priming practices and inform perfusionists of how their current priming methods compare to the spectrum of Australian practice. Method: A total of 15 survey questions covering various aspects of priming constituents were sent via email to perfusionists in all 63 adult open-heart centres across Australia. Results: This prime survey received a 100% response rate across Australia. All units prime with a balanced physiological solution, 73% of units prime with Plasma-Lyte 148 and 19% with Hartmann’s solution. No synthetic colloids are used for priming in Australia. Up to 6,520 (30%) cases per annum receive heparin as the only additive to their prime base solution. All other cases had various combinations of sodium bicarbonate, mannitol and albumin added for a variety of recorded reasons. Conclusion: Contemporary Australian priming practices show a marked level of conformity between units. Variation exists in the rationale for adding sodium bicarbonate, mannitol and albumin. Further investigations into the clinical effects of these additives are required to determine if the rationale for their addition is historical or judicious in this contemporary era of low prime volumes, physiological base solutions and coated bypass circuits.

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