Mond J M, Rodgers B, Hay P J, Owen C, Beumont P J V
Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, 700 First Ave South, Fargo, North Dakota 58103, USA.
J Clin Epidemiol. 2004 Nov;57(11):1167-71. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2004.02.017.
The effects of questionnaire length and mode of delivery on response rates were examined in an epidemiological study of eating-disordered behavior.
Short (8 pages) and long (14 pages) questionnaires were posted or hand-delivered to a community sample of 802 women. Nonrespondents who received the first questionnaire by hand delivery received a reminder letter and replacement questionnaire by post; those who received the initial questionnaire by post were further randomized to receive the first reminder by hand delivery or by post, in short or long form. A second reminder letter and questionnaire (in short or long form) were posted to all remaining nonrespondents.
The overall response rate was 52.9%. This is a conservative estimate of true response, because in a substantial proportion of cases (12.2%) individuals were no longer resident at the listed address. There was a significant effect of mode of delivery on response, favoring hand delivery, at both the initial mailout and first reminder. There was no effect of questionnaire length on response to the initial mailout, although overall response was significantly higher for the longer form. It was estimated that an overall response of 58.0% would have been achieved had first reminders been hand-delivered to all nonrespondents who received the initial mailout by post.
Delivery of questionnaires by hand may be an effective way to increase response rates in epidemiological research, but little is to be gained by reducing questionnaire length.
在一项饮食失调行为的流行病学研究中，考察了问卷长度和发放方式对回复率的影响。
将简短（8页）和冗长（14页）的问卷邮寄或亲自发放给802名女性的社区样本。通过亲自发放收到第一份问卷的未回复者会收到一封提醒信，并通过邮寄收到替代问卷；通过邮寄收到初始问卷的人会被进一步随机分配，以简短或冗长形式通过亲自发放或邮寄方式收到第一封提醒信。向所有剩余的未回复者邮寄第二封提醒信和问卷（简短或冗长形式）。
总体回复率为52.9%。这是对真实回复率的保守估计，因为在相当一部分案例（12.2%）中，个体不再居住在所列地址。在初始邮寄和第一次提醒时，发放方式对回复率有显著影响，支持亲自发放。问卷长度对初始邮寄的回复没有影响，尽管较长形式的总体回复率显著更高。据估计，如果对所有通过邮寄收到初始问卷的未回复者都亲自发放第一封提醒信，总体回复率将达到58.0%。
在流行病学研究中，亲自发放问卷可能是提高回复率的有效方法，但缩短问卷长度收效甚微。
