An Experimental Examination of the Content of Persuasion Letters on Nonresponse Rates and Survey Estimates in a Nonresponse Follow-Up Study

Abstract

Nonresponse follow-up studies are often conducted to understand whether respondents and nonrespondents differ on survey variables of interest in sample surveys. Methods used to recruit respondents often differ between nonresponse follow-up studies and main studies. One method is persuasion letters sent from study staff to nonrespondents that are tailored to the types of concerns raised by the respondent and recorded in paradata about the survey recruitment process. This study examined whether tailored persuasion letters yield higher response rates in nonresponse follow-up and whether respondents to a nonresponse follow-up differ depending on the content of the persuasion letter. Nonrespondents to the University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study, a survey of adults conducted in 2004 and 2005 in five counties in Michigan, were randomly assigned to either an appeal to help the community or tailored types of persuasion letters. No difference in response rates to the letter types was found, but meaningful differences in the survey variables appeared between nonrespondents responding to the follow-up and respondents to the main interview. These differences also occurred between the two groups receiving different types of letters. The community appeal letter appeared to address unvoiced concerns and brought a different sample of nonrespondents compared to the tailored letters.