Skip Navigation



Family Practice Advance Access published online on November 5, 2004
Family Practice, doi:10.1093/fampra/cmh620
© 2004 by Oxford University Press
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
21/6/697    most recent
cmh620v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Thomson, C. E.
Right arrow Articles by Russell, I. T.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Thomson, C. E.
Right arrow Articles by Russell, I. T.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Received June 18, 2004
Accepted July 20, 2004

Article

Short report: Encouraging GPs to complete postal questionnaires--one big prize or many small prizes? A randomized controlled trial

C. E. Thomson 1*, S. Paterson-Brown 2, D. Russell 3, D. McCaldin 1, and I. T. Russell 3

1 Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Queen Margaret University College, UK
2 Department of Surgery, Royal Infirmary Edinburgh, UK
3 Institute of Medical and Social Care Research, University of Wales Bangor, UK

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
C. E. Thomson, E-mail: cthomson{at}qmuc.ac.uk


  Abstract

Background. Low response rates to surveys are a problem in general practice. There is evidence that offering GPs incentives improves response rates to postal questionnaires. However, there is less evidence about the most effective form of incentive.

Objective. Our trial aimed to maximize response to a postal questionnaire and to test the most effective form of incentive.

Methods. The study involved a randomized controlled trial of a postal survey

Results. The incentive of a lottery for six bottles of champagne generated a response rate of 79%. Furthermore, one chance of six bottles generated 9% more responses than six chances of one bottle.

Conclusions. This study has established that, among incentives for postal questionnaires, one big prize improves the yield more than many small prizes despite the lower odds of winning. It has also confirmed that offering a modest incentive to GPs generates good response rates for postal questionnaires.

Keywords: General practice; incentives; postal surveys; response rates.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Eval Health ProfHome page
J. B. VanGeest, T. P. Johnson, and V. L. Welch
Methodologies for Improving Response Rates in Surveys of Physicians: A Systematic Review
Eval Health Prof, December 1, 2007; 30(4): 303 - 321.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.