Riding the wave: Response rates and the effects of time intervals between successive mail survey follow-up efforts

We investigate a mail survey research issue that has received little attent ion in the literature. the timing of follow-up efforts. Our data indicate t hat there is no relationship between the number of elapsed days between wav es and response rate, these findings are based on follow-up mailings sent t o each of 20 different treatment groups, resting follow-up intervals rangin g from three to 60 days. The implications of these findings are quite meani ngful. When timeliness of mail survey responses is an important considerati on, or when history and maturation biases are legitimate concerns, survey r esearchers should follow up sooner rather than later A quick follow-up stra tegy will not jeopardize response rates. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reversed.