Prenotification,Incentives, and Survey Modality: An Experimental Test of Methods to Increase Survey Response Rates of School Principals

Abstract

Teacher and principal surveys are among the most common data collection techniques employed in education research. Yet there is remarkably little research on survey methods in education, or about the most cost-effective way to raise response rates among teachers and principals. In an effort to explore various methods for increasing survey response rates, we randomly assigned 1,177 high school principals in the state of Michigan to 1 of 4 experimental conditions. We varied the mode of survey delivery, the mode in which the prenotification letter was sent, and whether or not a $10 incentive was provided. The results indicate that providing a monetary incentive substantially increased response rates over the no incentive condition and that principals were more likely to respond to a paper-based survey than a web-based one.     

Gathering faculty teaching evaluations by in‐class and online surveys: their effects on response rates and evaluations

This study compares student evaluations of faculty teaching that were completed in‐class with those collected online. The two methods of evaluation were compared on response rates and on evaluation scores. In addition, this study investigates whether treatments or incentives can affect the response to online evaluations. It was found that the response rate to the online survey was generally lower than that to the in‐class survey. When a grade incentive was used to encourage response to the online survey, a response rate was achieved that was comparable with that to the in‐class survey. Additionally, the study found that online evaluations do not produce significantly different mean evaluation scores than traditional in‐class evaluations, even when different incentives are offered to students who are asked to complete online evaluations.     

The Impact of Lottery Incentives on Student Survey Response Rates

Lottery incentives are widely used by institutional researchers despite a lack of research documenting the effectiveness of postpaid incentives in general and lottery incentives in particular. A controlled experiment tested the effects of lottery incentives using a prospective college applicant Web survey, with e-mails sent to more than 9,000 high school students. The impact of the level of lottery incentive on response rates and response bias is discussed.     

Using Web Surveys to Reach Community College Students: An Analysis of Response Rates and Response Bias

This study was designed to examine response rates and bias among a sample of community college students who received a district-wide survey by standard mail or e-mail. Findings suggest that predictors of response and types of responses are not appreciably different across paper and online mail-out samples when these samples are “matched” in terms of key demographics. Rates of response, however, differ by mode of survey administration, gender, and race/ethnicity.     

高校人事管理中激励的原则与策略

高校是一种具有自身独特规律的组织,高校人事管理中激励的运用必须符合教职工的特点与要求。具体地说,为了发挥教职工的积极性和革新精神,高校人事管理中的激励必须坚持公平性、层次性、物质激励与精神激励相结合的原则,并且要特剐重视情感激励法、尊重激励法、榜样激励法等具体的激励策略。     

Survey research in higher education

Although textbooks on educational research give only scant attention to survey research methodology, its extensive use in education provides a strong rationale for improving the preparation of educational researchers in effectively applying survey methods. This study reviews methods for dealing with nonresponse bias, the primary problem presented by survey methods. It also provides an updated review of the literature of studies investigating the effectiveness of incentives to increase survey response rates. We hypothesized that a reanalysis of reviewed studies, using a linear trend test, would resolve the inconsistencies found regarding the effectiveness of incentives to increase response rates. The results of the reanalysis and guidelines for educational researchers in systematically selecting and applying incentives to increase response rates are discussed.     

Student Survey Response Rates across Institutions: Why Do they Vary?

While many studies have examined nonresponse in student surveys, little research investigates why some schools achieve higher student survey response rates than other schools. Using hierarchical linear modeling, we analyze survey data from 321 institutions that participated in the 2003 National Survey of Student Engagement to understand how characteristics of colleges and universities relate to student survey response rates. We find that the makeup of the student body, as well as institutional characteristics such public/private status and urban location affects response rates, and that the number of computers per undergraduate has a strong positive effect for web survey response rates.     

论激励理论在高校管理中的运用

激励对高校的管理具有重要的意义。高校要运用激励理论，激发教职工的积极性、主动性和创造性提高管理效能，必须满足教职工的正当合理的需要，提高教职工的认识水平，创造富有激励性的环境。     

探索高校图书馆管理中的新机制

图书馆管理中应该引进激励机制。管理层应该树立“以人为本”的理念,从健全有效的考核机制、正确把握激励的时机和建立合理的奖励制度等方面来构建图书馆管理中的激励机制。这些途径是实行人性化管理的方式,是长效的激励机制,能充分挖掘馆员潜力,调动馆员的工作积极性。     

The adequacy of response rates to online and paper surveys: what can be done?

This article is about differences between, and the adequacy of, response rates to online and paper‐based course and teaching evaluation surveys. Its aim is to provide practical guidance on these matters. The first part of the article gives an overview of online surveying in general, a review of data relating to survey response rates and practical advice to help boost response rates. The second part of the article discusses when a response rate may be considered large enough for the survey data to provide adequate evidence for accountability and improvement purposes. The article ends with suggestions for improving the effectiveness of evaluation strategy. These suggestions are: to seek to obtain the highest response rates possible to all surveys; to take account of probable effects of survey design and methods on the feedback obtained when interpreting that feedback; and to enhance this action by making use of data derived from multiple methods of gathering feedback.     

Improving alumni survey response rates: An experiment and cost-benefit analysis

Mail surveys are frequently used in higher education research as a means of collecting data relevant for college decision makers. Despite their prevalence, mail surveys have drawbacks, chief among them the potential for low response rates, which may compromise the credibility of research results and diminish their usefulness. Therefore, it is important for institutional researchers to plan and conduct mail surveys that achieve optimal response rates, especially in populations (i.e., alumni) where low response rates may be a problem. This research tested the effect of the survey procedures suggested by Dillman's (1978) Total Design Method on response rate to a mail survey of two-year college alumni. The method used was an experiment with four groups that varied in their degree of adherence to Dillman's procedures, i.e., amount of follow-up and degree of personalized approach. Subjects were randomly assigned to groups. Results provided a test of Dillman's techniques in an educational setting, further information for institutional researchers about ways to improve response rates, and an analysis of the costs and benefits of using Dillman's methods.     

高职院校教师激励机制现状分析——以TG学校为例

通过问卷调查的方法,对天津高职院校TG学校教师激励现状进行了实证调研,发现高职院校目前教师管理激励机制方面存在的一些问题,为进一步探究高职教师激励机制研究作了前期分析。     

Teaching students about plagiarism using a web-based module

The following research delivered a web-based module about plagiarism and paraphrasing to avoid plagiarism in both a blended method, with live instruction paired with web presentation for 105 students, and a separate web-only method for 22 other students. Participants were graduates and undergraduates preparing to become teachers, the majority of whom were pursuing certification in elementary education. After the module, students practised paraphrasing with their own written example, then took a Likert-scale survey about their perceptions of the module and provided demographic information. The majority of students expressed a high level of satisfaction with not only the module itself but also their own increased knowledge about paraphrasing and plagiarism. Graduate students and students in the live group felt that pairing an instructor with the module furthered their understanding of paraphrasing. Students who identified themselves as having cheated felt that they had better learned how to paraphrase from the module compared with students who reported themselves as never having cheated. Responses from the web group were low considering the amount of students invited to participate. Students in the live group who had instructor-led discussion felt it contributed to their understanding of paraphrasing, while students in the web group wished for more instructor-led interaction. Outcomes on the student-written paraphrase were weaker than anticipated, with only half of the group producing good or excellent paraphrases.     

多中心治理视角下高职院校科研激励机制的构建

我国"放管服"政策驱使高职院校科研机制改革。高职院校科研激励的自身属性及现行管理方式的局限性决定了多中心治理的必要性。以Y职院为例的调查发现,当前科研激励机制存在以下三个问题:治理结构直线化,自治主体权力缺失;科研激励标准划一,针对性与灵活性不足;激励手段简单,激励效果不佳。结合多中心治理理论,高职院校科研激励机制应构建多维度科研激励治理结构,实行多元主体分类分层激励机制,实施多层面、多样性、全面性的复合型激励方式。     

Student evaluation of instruction: comparison between in-class and online methods

This study compares student evaluations of instruction that were collected in-class with those gathered through an online survey. The two modes of administration were compared with respect to response rate, psychometric characteristics and mean ratings through different statistical analyses. Findings indicated that in-class evaluations produced a significantly higher response rate than online evaluation. In addition, Rasch analysis showed that mean ratings obtained in in-class evaluation were significantly higher than those obtained in online evaluation. Finally, the distributions of student attendance and expected grade in both modes were compared via chi-square tests, and were found to differ in the two modes of administration.     

“以县为主”背景下的西部农村教育人事体制和教师激励机制

本文在西部甲省20个县(50个乡镇)的抽样调查基础上,对农村基层学区人事管理体制和教师激励机制进行实证分析。研究发现,人事权力的配置与教师激励机制存在密切关系。由县教育局任命学区校长、并且由学区校长调配学区内教师的权力格局,比较有利于基层教师激励机制的建立;而人事权力的过度集中,或者县教育局和乡镇政府进行交叉控制,都不利于基层学区对教师的管理与激励。     

Comparing response rates in e-mail and paper surveys: A meta-analysis

This meta-analysis examined 35 study results within last 10 years that directly compared the response rates of e-mail versus mail surveys. Individual studies reported inconsistent findings concerning the response rate difference between e-mail and mail surveys, but e-mail surveys generally have lower response rate (about 20% lower on the average) than mail surveys. Two study features (population type and follow-up reminders) could account for some variation in the e-mail and mail survey response rate differences across the studies. For the studies involving college populations, the response rate difference between e-mail and mail surveys was much smaller, or even negligible, suggesting that e-mail survey is reasonably comparable with mail survey for college populations. The finding about follow-up reminder as a statistically significant study feature turns out to be somewhat an anomaly. Other study features (i.e., article type, random assignment of survey respondents into e-mail and mail survey modes, and use of incentives) did not prove to be statistically useful in accounting for the variation of response rate differences between mail and e-mail surveys. The findings here suggest that, in this age of internet technology, mail survey is still superior to e-mail survey in terms of obtaining higher response rate.     

高校教务柔性管理的策略

教务管理是高校教学的一项重要工作,是提高教学质量、深化教学改革的主要渠道。目前,柔性管理方式已成为教务管理发展的特色与趋势。运用柔性化管理流程和柔性化服务改进高校教务管理方式,可从去程序化、多渠道教务工作培训、科学化的组织激励和服务式文化等四个方面,提升高校的教务管理运行效能,促进人才培养,建立健全高质量的教务管理体制,共同实现高校管理目标。     

From study to work: methodological challenges of a graduate destination survey in the Western Cape,South Africa

Current literature proposes several strategies for improving response rates to student evaluation surveys. Graduate destination surveys pose the difficulty of tracing graduates years later when their contact details may have changed. This article discusses the methodology of one such a survey to maximise response rates. Compiling a sample frame with reliable contact details was most important, but may require using additional sources of information other than university records. In hindsight, graduates should have been contacted prior to the survey to introduce it and stress its importance, while email and postal reminders appeared to have a limited effect on non-respondents. Due to varying response rates between participating universities, online responses were augmented with a call centre administering the survey telephonically to non-respondents. Although overall differences between online and telephonic responses appeared to be small, certain question items may need to be treated with caution when conducting telephonic surveys.     

Computer-prepared questionnaires and grouping theories: Considerations for mail surveys in academic settings

Possible respondents in a 1974 survey of University of Kentucky doctoral graduates were sent either computer-prepared or offset-printed questionnaires, personalized and identical in content. No difference was found in the overall response rates to the two types of instruments. But when the responses were categorized by the academic major of each recipient according to the theories of Holland (1973) and Biglan (1973a, 1973b), differential response rates appeared. Moreover, interactions of questionnaire type and grouping category were also evident. Response rates were projected using the best type of questionnaire for each grouping category in which a significant interaction occurred. Neither grouping theory was found to be superior to the other in projected response rates.