THE EFFECT OF MONETARY INCENTIVES AND FOLLOW-UP MAILINGS ON THE RESPONSE RATE AND RESPONSE QUALITY IN MAIL SURVEYS

The joint and comparative effects of the use of monetary incentivesand follow-up mailings were examined in a mail survey of suburbanWashington, DC cable television subscribers. Four experimentalgroups received monetary incentives enclosed with the firstmailing only ($0.25, $0.50, $1.00, or $2.00) and three follow-upmailings. These groups were compared with each other and againsta control group that did not receive an incentive. The resultsindicated that the response rate from the first mailing increasedsignificantly as the incentive amount increased from zero to$0.25, and from $0.25 to $1.00. Four mailings without an incentiveproduced a higher response rate than a single mailing with anincentive, but a combination of follow-up mailings and a $1.00or $2.00 incentive produced a significantly higher responserate than an equivalent number of mailings without an incentive. There was some evidence of intertreatment response bias. Largermonetary incentives tended to produce: (1) a greater degreeof effort expended in completing the questionnaires, as measuredby the number of short answers and comments provided, and thenumber of words written, and (2) comments that were more favorabletoward the survey sponsor.     

On Submitting a Proposal to a Publisher

The first step in publishing a college textbook is usually the submission of a proposal. Currently, textbook publishers are cutting back the number of books they are contracting, but "over-the-transom" proposals continue to flood editors'desks. Very few proposals are properly prepared since few would-be authors are aware of the precise information a publisher needs. This article suggests both guidelines for a "good" proposal, as well as some additional hints for textbook publication.     

ARE THERE BELLWETHER ELECTORAL DISTRICTS?

Using election returns from all U.S. counties for 14 presidentialelections, this study investigates the utility of election forecastingbased on "bellwether" or "barometric "electoral districts.     

Interests in News and the Knowledge Gap

Although prior evidence identified socioeconomic status as akey factor in the consumption of public affairs news information,equivalent evidence suggests that individual interests in newsevents are related to media consumption and information acquisition.Here, the comparative strengths of these two propositions areanalyzed in the context of the "knowledge gap" hypothesis. Fortwo news events, two-wave data from community samples assessedsocial interest and self-interest in the news, level of education,and knowledge about different aspects of the news events. Interestwas more strongly related to knowledge than education, particularlyfor more complex information. Further, between the two fieldwaves, more new information was learned by those with higherlevels of interest.