Call Me Maybe: Using Incentives and Follow-Ups to Increase Principals’ Survey Response Rates

Abstract

Educational researchers regularly collect survey data from educators, but struggle to encourage survey completion in this busy population, particularly when surveys are web-based. In this study we experimentally investigated the usefulness of follow-up phone calls and increased monetary incentives to non-respondents as strategies to boost response rates. We randomly assigned 540 hard-to-reach Michigan secondary school principals to one of four conditions (control, call, incentive, or call and incentive). We find that follow-up calls more than double the likelihood of survey completion, while the offer of a larger monetary incentive has no statistically significant effect. Integrating this finding with recent literature on survey response rates in educational settings, we conclude with a series of recommendations for researchers surveying principals and other school administrators.