Saturday, November 12
Pretesting Methods
Sat, Nov 12, 4:00 PM - 5:25 PM
Regency Ballroom-Monroe
Pretesting with Special Populations

Questionnaire Length and Response Rates: A Nationwide Experiment Across Three Modes of Administration (303639)

*Rene Bautista, NORC at the University of Chicago 
Alyson Prater, NORC at the University of Chicago 
Michael J. Stern, NORC at the University of Chicago 

Keywords: Questionnaire length, Response Rates, Web surveys, Mail Surveys

The effect of questionnaire length on survey participation is one of the most concerning topics among survey researchers; nonetheless, little empirical research has been conducted in the area. Typically, researchers work under the assumption that shorter questionnaires yield higher levels of response yet empirical evidence shows equivocal results. Since numerous factors are at play in survey participation---including mode of administration---it has been hard to estimate the relationship between questionnaire length and response rates, especially in the context of larger surveys. This paper will present results of a nationwide experiment on questionnaire length conducted in three modes of administration (i.e., CATI, web and paper) using a redesigned questionnaire of the National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH). The NSCH elicits data on children both with and without special health care needs. NSCH has been historically fielded as a telephone survey, but is looking to transition to self-administered modes (i.e., web and mail). As part of the redesign process, the NSCH instrument is combined with National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (NS-CSHCN). Understandably, merging two questionnaires (NSCH and NS-CSHCN) produces a larger single questionnaire. To assess the impact of questionnaire length, NORC at the University of Chicago will conduct an experiment on behalf of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to test two versions of the redesigned questionnaire (i.e., long vs. short) across three modes of data collection (CATI, web and mail). Interview completion rates and response rates will be key metrics compared across conditions. Results and implications from this experiment using a representative sample of the U.S. population will be discussed in the paper.