How Are The Mail Questionnaires Important And Effective In Research?

The main advantage of mail questionnaires is that a wide geographical area can be covered in the survey. They are mailed to the respondents who can complete them at their convenience in their homes and at their own pace. However the return rates of mail questionnaire are typically low.

A 30 percent response rate is considered acceptable. Another disadvantage of the mail questionnaire is that any doubts the respondents might have cannot be clarified. Also with very low return rates it is difficult to establish the representativeness of the sample because those responding to the survey may not at all represent the population they are supposed to.

However some effective techniques can be employed for improving the rates of response to mail questionnaires.  Sending follow-up letters enclosing some small monetary amounts as incentives with the questionnaire providing the respondent with self-addressed, stamped return envelopes and keeping the questionnaire brief do indeed help.

Mail questionnaires are also expected to meet with a better response rate when respondents are notified in advance about the forthcoming survey and a reputed research organization administers them with its own introductory cover letter. The choice of using the questionnaires as a data gathering method might be restricted if the researcher has to reach subjects with very little education.