NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project, Paper Three: The Impactof a Sponsor Letter on Mail Survey Response Rates

摘要

In this paper, we describe the impact of two interventions in the design of mailsurveys. The interventions were devised to increase response rates and to clarify sample eligibility. To test their effectiveness, the interventions occurred at different points in each of three surveys. One intervention was a letter from the research sponsor (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) supporting the research. The other intervention was the inclusion of a postcard that could be used by the respondent to indicate that the questionnaire was not appropriate for him/her. The sample was drawn from the membership of a professional aerospace