Selected questionnaire size and color combinations were significantly related to mailed survey response rates

Timothy J. Beebe; Sarah M. Stoner; Kari J. Anderson; Arthur R. Williams

doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2007.01.006

Selected questionnaire size and color combinations were significantly related to mailed survey response rates

Timothy J. Beebe, Sarah M. Stoner, Kari J. Anderson, Arthur R. Williams

Health Policy and Management

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: To determine the degree to which mailed survey response rates, response times, and nonresponse bias are affected by questionnaire size and color. Study Design and Setting: Questionnaires were mailed to a random sample of 2,000 Mayo Clinic patients in one of four size/color "test" groups. One thousand three hundred nine surveys were completed, approximately two-thirds in each group. Results: A small (61/8 × 81/4 in) questionnaire booklet on white paper had a higher response rate (68.4%) than a similarly sized questionnaire on blue paper (62.3%). A large (81/4 × 11 in) questionnaire on white paper had a 62.7% rate, whereas a large, blue questionnaire had a response rate of 68.6%. Median response times did not differ by questionnaire size/color. No evidence of differential nonresponse bias was observed across the four test groups. Conclusion: This study supports the use of a small/white questionnaire format advocated by the Total Design Method advanced by Don Dillman at Washington State University. We observed a favorable response rate for a large questionnaire printed on blue paper; however, if time and resources are limited, use of a small/white questionnaire appears preferable.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1184-1189
Number of pages	6
Journal	Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
Volume	60
Issue number	11
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2007.01.006
State	Published - Nov 2007

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The project described was supported by internal Mayo Foundation funds. The contents of this paper are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of Mayo Clinic. The authors express their gratitude to Dr. David Herman for his support of this project and Ms. Ann Harris for her assistance with the questionnaire design component of this study. We especially appreciate the dedicated work of the Mayo Clinic Survey Research Center staff and the contributions of all the Mayo Clinic patients who participated in the study. We also thank the editor and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.

Keywords

Mail surveys
Paper color
Questionnaire size
Response bias
Response rate
Survey methods

Publisher link

10.1016/j.jclinepi.2007.01.006

Find It

Find It at U of M Libraries

Cite this

@article{dcee4f4d373843d08a0a3d0665f89885,

title = "Selected questionnaire size and color combinations were significantly related to mailed survey response rates",

abstract = "Objective: To determine the degree to which mailed survey response rates, response times, and nonresponse bias are affected by questionnaire size and color. Study Design and Setting: Questionnaires were mailed to a random sample of 2,000 Mayo Clinic patients in one of four size/color {"}test{"} groups. One thousand three hundred nine surveys were completed, approximately two-thirds in each group. Results: A small (61/8 × 81/4 in) questionnaire booklet on white paper had a higher response rate (68.4%) than a similarly sized questionnaire on blue paper (62.3%). A large (81/4 × 11 in) questionnaire on white paper had a 62.7% rate, whereas a large, blue questionnaire had a response rate of 68.6%. Median response times did not differ by questionnaire size/color. No evidence of differential nonresponse bias was observed across the four test groups. Conclusion: This study supports the use of a small/white questionnaire format advocated by the Total Design Method advanced by Don Dillman at Washington State University. We observed a favorable response rate for a large questionnaire printed on blue paper; however, if time and resources are limited, use of a small/white questionnaire appears preferable.",

keywords = "Mail surveys, Paper color, Questionnaire size, Response bias, Response rate, Survey methods",

author = "Beebe, {Timothy J.} and Stoner, {Sarah M.} and Anderson, {Kari J.} and Williams, {Arthur R.}",

note = "Funding Information: The project described was supported by internal Mayo Foundation funds. The contents of this paper are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of Mayo Clinic. The authors express their gratitude to Dr. David Herman for his support of this project and Ms. Ann Harris for her assistance with the questionnaire design component of this study. We especially appreciate the dedicated work of the Mayo Clinic Survey Research Center staff and the contributions of all the Mayo Clinic patients who participated in the study. We also thank the editor and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. ",

year = "2007",

month = nov,

doi = "10.1016/j.jclinepi.2007.01.006",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "60",

pages = "1184--1189",

journal = "Journal of Chronic Diseases",

issn = "0895-4356",

publisher = "Elsevier USA",

number = "11",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Selected questionnaire size and color combinations were significantly related to mailed survey response rates

AU - Beebe, Timothy J.

AU - Stoner, Sarah M.

AU - Anderson, Kari J.

AU - Williams, Arthur R.

N1 - Funding Information: The project described was supported by internal Mayo Foundation funds. The contents of this paper are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of Mayo Clinic. The authors express their gratitude to Dr. David Herman for his support of this project and Ms. Ann Harris for her assistance with the questionnaire design component of this study. We especially appreciate the dedicated work of the Mayo Clinic Survey Research Center staff and the contributions of all the Mayo Clinic patients who participated in the study. We also thank the editor and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.

PY - 2007/11

Y1 - 2007/11

N2 - Objective: To determine the degree to which mailed survey response rates, response times, and nonresponse bias are affected by questionnaire size and color. Study Design and Setting: Questionnaires were mailed to a random sample of 2,000 Mayo Clinic patients in one of four size/color "test" groups. One thousand three hundred nine surveys were completed, approximately two-thirds in each group. Results: A small (61/8 × 81/4 in) questionnaire booklet on white paper had a higher response rate (68.4%) than a similarly sized questionnaire on blue paper (62.3%). A large (81/4 × 11 in) questionnaire on white paper had a 62.7% rate, whereas a large, blue questionnaire had a response rate of 68.6%. Median response times did not differ by questionnaire size/color. No evidence of differential nonresponse bias was observed across the four test groups. Conclusion: This study supports the use of a small/white questionnaire format advocated by the Total Design Method advanced by Don Dillman at Washington State University. We observed a favorable response rate for a large questionnaire printed on blue paper; however, if time and resources are limited, use of a small/white questionnaire appears preferable.

AB - Objective: To determine the degree to which mailed survey response rates, response times, and nonresponse bias are affected by questionnaire size and color. Study Design and Setting: Questionnaires were mailed to a random sample of 2,000 Mayo Clinic patients in one of four size/color "test" groups. One thousand three hundred nine surveys were completed, approximately two-thirds in each group. Results: A small (61/8 × 81/4 in) questionnaire booklet on white paper had a higher response rate (68.4%) than a similarly sized questionnaire on blue paper (62.3%). A large (81/4 × 11 in) questionnaire on white paper had a 62.7% rate, whereas a large, blue questionnaire had a response rate of 68.6%. Median response times did not differ by questionnaire size/color. No evidence of differential nonresponse bias was observed across the four test groups. Conclusion: This study supports the use of a small/white questionnaire format advocated by the Total Design Method advanced by Don Dillman at Washington State University. We observed a favorable response rate for a large questionnaire printed on blue paper; however, if time and resources are limited, use of a small/white questionnaire appears preferable.

KW - Mail surveys

KW - Paper color

KW - Questionnaire size

KW - Response bias

KW - Response rate

KW - Survey methods

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=35148885672&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=35148885672&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2007.01.006

DO - 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2007.01.006

M3 - Article

C2 - 17938061

AN - SCOPUS:35148885672

SN - 0895-4356

VL - 60

SP - 1184

EP - 1189

JO - Journal of Chronic Diseases

JF - Journal of Chronic Diseases

IS - 11

ER -

Selected questionnaire size and color combinations were significantly related to mailed survey response rates

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Publisher link

Find It

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this