Do Postal Stamps (Still) Lead to a Higher Response Rate? An Empirical Test in Belgium

Bibliographic Data

ID7774136
AuthorsMarc Hooghe (0000-0002-6826-1376, KU Leuven), Dieter Stiers (0000-0001-7242-8477, KU Leuven)
Year2023
Volume35
Issue1
Pages64-72
Publication date2023-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCAM (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1087-8513 • E-ISSN: 1552-3969
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1525822x211072350
OpenAlexW4214729390
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited13

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

Advertising · Business · Postage Stamps · Protocol (science) · Significant difference · Statistics · Test (biology) · Mathematics · Medicine · Mobile Crowdsensing and Crowdsourcing · Privacy, Security, and Data Protection · Psychology · Survey Methodology and Nonresponse

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