Monetary Incentives and Mail Questionnaire Response Rates

• Published in: Journal of advertising Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 46 - 48
• Main Authors: Paolillo, Joseph G.P., Lorenzi, Peter
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Provo Taylor & Francis Group 01.01.1984; Board of Directors, American Academy of Advertising; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Advertising research; Educational administration; Financial incentives; Group incentives; Incentives; Lotteries; Mail; Monetary incentives; Opinion polls; Personal profiles; Polls & surveys; Premiums; Productivity incentives; Public opinion; Questionnaires; Research Notes and Communications; Response rates; Statistical analysis
• ISSN: 0091-3367; 1557-7805
• DOI: 10.1080/00913367.1984.10672874

An experiment involving 400 randomly selected professionals from the midwestern United States indicated that the response rate to a mail questionnaire was significantly increased by the use of an enclosed one dollar incentive. Promised incentives of two dollars and entry into a lottery with awards of fifty dollars, thirty dollars, and twenty dollars in return for a completed questionnaire did not significantly change the response rate to the mail questionnaire relative to the no incentive (control) group response rate. The two dollar promised incentive group had a higher response rate than the lottery-type promised incentive group with prizes of fifty, thirty, and twenty dollars.