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Response Rates for Mail Surveys of Nonprofit Organizations: A Review and Empirical Test

The Urban Institute

Sarah Wilson

United Way of America

Thomas H. Pollak

The Urban Institute

Patrick Michael Rooney

Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis

The failure of a substantial portion of mail survey recipients to respond to invitations to participate in research projects raises issues of nonresponse error. Because this error is difficult to quantify, survey researchers seek high rates of return to signal legitimacy and reduce questions regarding nonresponse bias. Research on survey method indicates that the design of the survey research process has a measurable influence on the rate of survey returns. This article focuses on three aspects of research design that are expected to influence mail survey returns in surveys of nonprofit organizations: questionnaire complexity, use of Federal Express versus standard mail, and the use of monetary incentives. Using an experimental design, the research concludes that questionnaire complexity and the use of monetary incentives generate no difference in returns, whereas the use of Federal Express to deliver the survey to nonprofit executives has a measurable positive effect.

Key Words: survey research • response rates • nonprofit organizations

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Vol. 32, No. 2, 252-267 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/0899764003032002005


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