<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The U.S. Census Bureau conducted a series of experiments to evaluate alternative contact strategies. We hoped to identify effective mail strategies that increase timeliness of response and reduce the number of cases receiving more-costly follow-ups. These experiments were incorporated into the collection of several annual business surveys and one quarterly survey. This article summarizes results from five experiments whose designs are based on business survey decision-making and response processes. We obtained clear, positive results from tests involving manipulation of mail sequences, but only modest results from tests in which we varied messages and envelope appearance, whose effects were seen only in specific industry subgroups.</p></abstract>

The U.S. Census Bureau conducted a series of experiments to evaluate alternative contact strategies. We hoped to identify effective mail strategies that increase timeliness of response and reduce the number of cases receiving more-costly follow-ups. These experiments were incorporated into the collection of several annual business surveys and one quarterly survey. This article summarizes results from five experiments whose designs are based on business survey decision-making and response processes. We obtained clear, positive results from tests involving manipulation of mail sequences, but only modest results from tests in which we varied messages and envelope appearance, whose effects were seen only in specific industry subgroups.

Experimenting with Contact Strategies in Business Surveys

Journal of Official Statistics

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Experimenting with Contact Strategies in Business Surveys"}

The U.S. Census Bureau conducted a series of experiments to evaluate alternative contact strategies. We hoped to identify effective mail strategies that...

Experimenting with Contact Strategies in Business Surveys

Published Online: Jun 07, 2018

Page range: 365 - 395

Received: Oct 01, 2016

Accepted: Jan 01, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jos-2018-0017

Keywords
Mail experiment, survey participation decision, reminder letters, mail sequence response enhancement

© 2018 Alfred D. Tuttle et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Experimenting with Contact Strategies in Business Surveys

Published Online: Jun 07, 2018

Page range: 365 - 395

Received: Oct 01, 2016

Accepted: Jan 01, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jos-2018-0017

KeywordsMail experiment, survey participation decision, reminder letters, mail sequence response enhancement

© 2018 Alfred D. Tuttle et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Mail experiment, survey participation decision, reminder letters, mail sequence response enhancement