Improving Response Rates in Cross-Cultural Mail Surveys

How to achieve good response rates from domestic and international mailings continues to be a perplexing problem for researchers. Studies abound that test the effects of adjustments to specific elements of the survey package. This study advocates the adoption of a more theoretically grounded and integrated approach rather than the random adjustment of specific elements. One such approach, the total design method (TDM) is reviewed and its normative guidelines documented. A study using the approach in a commercial context was conducted in three countries with positive results. The approach was seen to have a positive effect on response rates and to minimize the problem of source country effects.