In many surveys, advance letters are the first point of contact with target persons. The letters have multiple objectives, such as informing about the survey request, gaining trust, and evoking participation. Numerous previous quantitative and experimental studies have varied the content and layout of advance letters to examine effects on outcome rates and nonresponse bias. In contrast, studies on advance letters using qualitative approaches are rather scarce, although they can provide more information on how respondents process advance letters and perceive certain aspects of advance letters. The present study implemented a cognitive pretest in which 20 participants evaluated three advance …

Researchers in several countries have regularly reported decreasing response rates for surveys and the need for increased efforts in order to attain an acceptable response rate: two things that can be seen as signs of a worsening survey climate. At the same time, differences between countries and surveys with regard to the actual level and evolution of response rates have also been noted. Some of these differences are probably linked to differences in the survey content or design. This may hinder the study of the evolving survey climate over time, based on different surveys in different countries, because more readily …

Given the popularity of political knowledge questions in political science research, it is critical to understand the measurement of this question type. This study examines the data collection mode effect on political knowledge questions. Specifically, responses to political knowledge questions between face-to-face and Web surveys, and between computer-assisted self-interview (CASI) and Web surveys are compared using the 2012 American National Election Studies. The results suggest that a significant mode effect exists for political knowledge questions. Among the 13 knowledge questions examined, 10 exhibited significant differences between modes. In general, Web surveys elicit more accurate answers than face-to-face and CASI. Easy …