How Much Do Additional Mailings and Telephone Calls Contribute to Response Rates in a Survey of Medicare Beneficiaries?

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Bibliographic Details
Title: How Much Do Additional Mailings and Telephone Calls Contribute to Response Rates in a Survey of Medicare Beneficiaries?
Language: English
Authors: Burkhart, Q., Haviland, Amelia M., Kallaur, Paul N., Edwards, Carol A., Brown, Julie A., Elliott, Marc N.
Source: Field Methods. Nov 2015 27(4):409-425.
Availability: 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: http://sagepub.com
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 17
Publication Date: 2015
Sponsoring Agency: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
Contract Number: HHSM500200500028I
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Mail Surveys, Telephone Surveys, Response Rates (Questionnaires), Federal Programs, Medical Services, National Surveys, Patients, Disproportionate Representation, Statistical Analysis
DOI: 10.1177/1525822X14555309
ISSN: 1525-822X
Abstract: Surveys often spend substantial money on multiple mailings and telephone calls to ensure high overall response rates and adequate representation of hard-to-reach demographic subgroups. We examine the extent to which an additional mailing and additional sets of telephone calls are effective in attaining these goals across a variety of subgroups in a large, national multimode survey of Medicare beneficiaries. We also examine the relative data quality of the responses that come with each level of extra effort. We find that additional mailings appear more effective in some groups, while additional telephone calls appear more effective in others. Tailoring the fielding strategy differently by subgroup may improve response rates at a lower cost per complete than using the same fielding protocol for all potential respondents, although data quality is likely to decline with additional efforts in either mode.
Abstractor: As Provided
Number of References: 27
Entry Date: 2017
Accession Number: EJ1136881
Database: ERIC
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