Research Tips

Mail Surveys

Mail surveys sometimes get overlooked as a data collection technique given the traditional popularity of telephone surveys and the growing prominence of Web surveys; however, mail surveys do offer advantages over these approaches for some types of research. Like Web surveys, but unlike phone surveys, mail survey respondents get to read questions for themselves rather than responding to questions read by an interviewer. That’s important when questions are complex or there are a lot of responses to choose from. It also enables respondents to answer questions at their convenience, which may increase their willingness to participate and the attention that they give to each question. Also, it’s usually possible to come closer to meeting the requirements for probability sampling with a mail survey than it is with a telephone or Web survey, which is important if the results from the survey are to be extrapolated beyond those surveyed to make predictions about the attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs of a larger group of people.