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The effects of electronic alert letters for internet surveys of academic scientists

Author

Listed:
  • Ashlee Frandell

    (Arizona State University)

  • Mary K. Feeney

    (Arizona State University)

  • Timothy P. Johnson

    (University of Illinois At Chicago)

  • Eric W. Welch

    (Arizona State University)

  • Lesley Michalegko

    (Arizona State University)

  • Heyjie Jung

    (Arizona State University)

Abstract

Survey alert letters improve response rates and assure potential respondents that the research is legitimate and of high quality. Pre-notification by mail increases response rates for web surveys because it represents a second mode of communication and contributes to increases in respondent trust and study legitimacy. Due to work-from-home orders in response to COVID-19, postal alert letters are unlikely to reach research participants at their place of employment. We conducted three experiments testing the effects of sending academic scientists a pre-notification email message on web survey response rates as compared to no alert email message and variation in the timing of the pre-notification. The data comes from three random national samples of university-based scientists that were conducted during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two of three experiments suggest that email alert pre-notifications can have a minor effect on improving response rates to web surveys of academic scientists. The timing of those pre-notification messages, though, had no effect on survey response. These findings indicate pre-notification messages remain useful when studying academic scientists. Future research should compare the effects of electronic as compared to postal pre-notification on survey response among scientists, as postal pre-notification requires extensive resources.

Suggested Citation

  • Ashlee Frandell & Mary K. Feeney & Timothy P. Johnson & Eric W. Welch & Lesley Michalegko & Heyjie Jung, 2021. "The effects of electronic alert letters for internet surveys of academic scientists," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(8), pages 7167-7181, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:126:y:2021:i:8:d:10.1007_s11192-021-04029-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-021-04029-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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