The Treasure Hunt: Strategies for Obtaining Maximum Response to a Postal Survey

Abstract

This is an account of the methods used by a teacher/researcher to elicit response to a postal questionnaire, undertaken as the preliminary stage of a retrospective follow-up study of outcomes for a specific population of children perceived to have speech and language difficulties. The response rate was raised from 25.7% from the first mail drop to an overall rate of 67%, by persevering through seven initiatives. Discussion includes the approaches adopted and the emergent issues from the nature of the response as well as from the resultant data.