The percentage of Americans willing to participate in telephone polls has hit a new low, according to a new report, raising doubts about the continued viability of the phone surveys that have traditionally dominated politics and elections, both in the media and in campaigns. The Pew Research Center reported Wednesday that the response rate for its phone polls last year fell to just 6 percent —...
How to maximize response rates
This is how we roll in Texas: An East Dallas woman is outraged after she claims one U.S. Census worker showed up at her door for a housing survey and would not take “no” for an answer. Sonia Platz said the worker went as far as to camp out in her yard as she waited for Platz to change her mind. “She’s ringing the bell, knocking on the door. And I’m like, ‘I don’t want to participate.’” Said Platz...
College student survey response rates continue to decline
Depressingly, average institutional response rates for the NSSE have dropped over 10 percentage points during the last decade, to 30% in their most recent annual report. While the content of the NSSE leaves much to be desired, their response rates are a good indicator of what is happening across the country on college campuses. Some of this decline is probably due to survey fatigue; some may be...