University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT, USA.
Surgery. 2013 Jul;154(1):38-45. doi: 10.1016/j.surg.2013.04.060.
Surveys are important research tools that permit the accumulation of information from large samples that would otherwise be impractical to collect. Resident surveys have been used frequently to monitor the quality of postgraduate training. Low response rates threaten the utility of this research tool. The purpose of this study was to determine the standard response rate of surveys administered to surgery residents and identify characteristics associated with achieving greater response rates.
A search of peer-reviewed literature published between September 2003 and June 2011 was performed with the use of PubMed with Medical Subject Headings: "internship and residency," "surgery," "data collection," and "questionnaires." For inclusion, articles must have described a survey given to active surgery residents within the United States. Surveys were evaluated based on the following criteria: population size, response rate, incentive use, follow-up use, survey format (online vs paper), and institution versus national.
Of 433 initial results, 47 met inclusion criteria with a mean response rate of 65.3%. Surveys administered in paper format had a greater response rate compared with those given electronically (mean 78.6% vs 36.4%, respectively, P < .001). Greatest mean response rates were seen for institutional surveys compared with those given nationally (83.1% vs 42% respectively, P < .001).
Our review demonstrated that paper surveys administered at the institutional level and during assemblies integrated into residents' schedules demonstrated enhanced response rates. The validity and generalizability of data collected through such surveys will improve as the aspects which dictate response rate are better understood and implemented.
调查是一种重要的研究工具，可以从大量样本中积累信息，否则这些信息的收集将不切实际。住院医师调查经常被用于监测研究生培训的质量。低应答率威胁到这种研究工具的实用性。本研究的目的是确定对外科住院医师进行调查的标准应答率，并确定与实现更高应答率相关的特征。
使用 PubMed 进行了一项同行评议文献的搜索，使用的医学主题词是“实习和住院医师”、“外科”、“数据收集”和“问卷调查”。纳入标准是必须描述在美国进行的一项针对活跃外科住院医师的调查。调查根据以下标准进行评估：人口规模、应答率、使用激励措施、使用后续措施、调查形式（在线与纸质）以及机构与国家。
在 433 项初步结果中，有 47 项符合纳入标准，平均应答率为 65.3%。纸质格式的调查比电子格式的调查具有更高的应答率（分别为 78.6%和 36.4%，P <.001）。与全国性调查相比，机构调查的平均应答率最高（分别为 83.1%和 42%，P <.001）。
我们的综述表明，在机构层面上以纸质形式进行的调查，以及在居民日程中融入的集会，表现出更高的应答率。通过这种调查收集的数据的有效性和普遍性将随着更好地理解和实施决定应答率的各个方面而得到提高。
