Sponsorship and follow-up effects on response quality of mail surveys

This paper reports the results of an investigation of response quality in a mail survey. Survey sponsorship (university versus consulting firm) was evaluated in relation to the classification of the respondent (university alumni versus general public) on the dependent variable. In addition, response quality of the follow-up questionnaire was compared to that of the initial mailing. The findings revealed that there were differences in response quality between the initial and follow-up mailing. No differences were found in response quality for the four experimental conditions within the initial mailing, but differences were found within the follow-up mailing. Interpretations of the findings are discussed and implications for further research are presented.