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ERIC Number: EJ1360901
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Feb
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1525-822X
EISSN: EISSN-1552-3969
Short Take: Do Postal Stamps (Still) Lead to a Higher Response Rate? An Empirical Test in Belgium
Hooghe, Marc; Stiers, Dieter
Field Methods, v35 n1 p64-72 Feb 2023
When conducting a postal survey, a traditional recommendation is to use paper postage stamps instead of an automated postage system, to make sure that invitations have a more personal and attractive appearance. In this research note, we investigate whether this traditional recommendation is still valid. In the autumn of 2020, a postal survey was conducted among high-school teachers in Belgium strictly adhering to the Dillman protocol. The overall response rate was 43.4%. Invitations with a real paper postage stamp had a three-percentage points higher response rate (44.9% versus 41.8%), but this difference proved not to be significant. There are no significant gender or age differences between the groups. In addition, the presence or absence of a paper stamp did not influence the respondents' choice for answering the questionnaire online or on paper, as those who received a stamped envelope were equally likely to choose the online answering tool.
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2993
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Belgium
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A