effect of questionnaire length on participant response rate: A case study in the U.S. cabinet industry

Mail questionnaires are a popular method of collecting primary data for market research. However, a problem associated with mail questionnaires is the possibility of non-response bias whenever response rates are less than 100 percent. One way to decrease the potential for non-response bias is through higher response rates. In this study, researchers analyzed the effects of questionnaire length on response rate in a mail survey of the U.S. cabinet industry. Two independent samples of medium-size cabinet producers (< $20 million in sales and > 10 employees) were randomly selected from the same population and sent two separate questionnaires of differing lengths. One questionnaire was three pages in length and the other was one page in length. The results revealed that the sample receiving the short questionnaire was nearly double the response rate (30.8% versus 16.6%). Moreover, subsequent t-tests conducted on selected responses from both questionnaires indicated that the short questionnaire added no bias to the study.