The effects of a monetary incentive and the ethnicity of the sponsor's signature on the rate and quality of response to A mail survey

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effects of a monetary incentive and the ethnicity of the sponsor's signature on the rate and quality of response to a mail survey. Six hundred subjects were randomly assigned to four groups. One group received a mail survey from “Leroy Jefferson,” apparently a Black individual, with a 25% monetary incentive included. Group two also received a questionnaire from “Leroy Jefferson,” but without the monetary incentive. Groups three (25 ϕ included) and four (no monetary incentive) were sent questionnaires from “John Richardson,” an ethnically unidentifiable sponsor. The questionnaire was a 16-item attitudes towards Black scale. The results of the study demonstrated the value of a monetary incentive in increasing the rate of response. The name of the sponsor, however, did not affect either the rate of response or the quality of response (i. e. the scores on the attitude scale).