The Costs and Benefits of Mail, Fax, and Mixed-Mode Surveys in Organizational Research

Abstract

This article examines the use of a new technology for collecting survey data for organizational research. Results are presented from a mail-and-fax mixed-mode study sent to 487 state and federal administrative law judges. Comparisons are made between the modes' response rates, financial costs, and results. No significant differences were detected in response choices and only minor differences were found in the characteristics of individuals who responded to each of the survey modes. The fax survey was found to impose a smaller financial cost on the researcher, suggesting the fax and mail-and-fax mixed-mode surveys to be promising modes of data collection.