Questionnaire Context as a Source of Response Differences in Mail and Telephone Surveys

Abstract

There are three sources for response effects in surveys: the survey task (mode of administration), the interviewer, and the respondent. Although most research has focused on response differences due to characteristics of the interviewer, and the respondent, research suggests that differences in the mode of administration are the major source of response effects (Bradburn, 1983). However, relatively little is known about the conditions under which response differences can be expected. The literature is mixed with respect to the extent of response differences between mail and telephone survey methods. The general consensus among survey researchers has been that mode of administration has only a modest effect on most survey responses (Singer & Presser, 1989, p. 187), although this view may be changing (Schwarz, Strack, Hippler, & Bishop, in press). Our purpose in this chapter is to present data testing whether some response differences between telephone and mail surveys are attributable to differences in the effect of the context established by the mode of administration.