TY - JOUR
T1 - Improving Survey Response Rates in Online Panels
T2 - Effects of Low-Cost Incentives and Cost-Free Text Appeal Interventions
AU - Pedersen, Mogens Jin
AU - Nielsen, Christian Videbæk
PY - 2016/4/1
Y1 - 2016/4/1
N2 - Identifying ways to efficiently maximize the response rate to surveys is important in survey-based research. However, evidence on the response rate effect of donation incentives and especially altruistic and egotistic text appeal interventions is sparse and ambiguous. Via a randomized survey experiment among 6,162 members of an online survey panel, this article shows how low-cost incentives and cost-free text appeal interventions may affect the survey response rate in online panels. The experimental treatments comprise (a) a cash prize lottery incentive, (b) two donation incentives that promise a monetary donation to a good cause in return for survey response, (c) an egotistic text appeal, and (d) an altruistic text appeal. Relative to a control group, we find higher response rates among recipients of the egotistic text appeal and the lottery incentive. Donation incentives yield lower response rates
AB - Identifying ways to efficiently maximize the response rate to surveys is important in survey-based research. However, evidence on the response rate effect of donation incentives and especially altruistic and egotistic text appeal interventions is sparse and ambiguous. Via a randomized survey experiment among 6,162 members of an online survey panel, this article shows how low-cost incentives and cost-free text appeal interventions may affect the survey response rate in online panels. The experimental treatments comprise (a) a cash prize lottery incentive, (b) two donation incentives that promise a monetary donation to a good cause in return for survey response, (c) an egotistic text appeal, and (d) an altruistic text appeal. Relative to a control group, we find higher response rates among recipients of the egotistic text appeal and the lottery incentive. Donation incentives yield lower response rates
U2 - 10.1177/0894439314563916
DO - 10.1177/0894439314563916
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0894-4393
VL - 34
SP - 229
EP - 243
JO - Social Science Computer Review
JF - Social Science Computer Review
IS - 2
ER -