Online Program

Experiments with Recruitment Strategies in a National Establishment Survey (307930)

Keywords: contact strategies, advance mailing

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Employment Statistics (CES) program is a monthly panel survey where respondents report data on employment, hours, and earnings of workers. CES is conducting a series of experiments to increase legitimacy of the survey and improve recruitment rates. The first experiment tests the effect of mailing an advance letter prior to attempting phone contact. After making phone contact, CES mails potential respondents survey materials in a pocket folder. The second experiment tests a redesigned folder against the current folder to see if design has an impact on cooperation rates. A control condition includes a survey form mailed in a standard envelope, with no folder. The third experiment tests whether a letter could replace the actual survey form. While data are initially collected via CATI, the survey form may aid record keeping and remind respondents of the monthly phone call. However, survey forms are costly and may overwhelm respondents, thus motivating a test of the effect of mailing a survey form or a survey letter on response.