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Reported response rates to mailed physician questionnaires
S M Cummings1, L A Savitz, T R Konrad
1Graduate Program in Health Care Administration, Simmons College, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Objective:
To examine response rate information from mailed physician questionnaires reported in published articles.
Data Sources/Study Setting:
Citations for articles published between 1985 and 1995 were obtained using a key word search of the Medline, PsychLit, and Sociofile databases.
Study Design:
A 5 percent random sample of relevant citations was selected from each year.
Data Collection/Extraction Methods:
Citations found to be other than physician surveys were discarded and replaced with the next randomly assigned article. Selected articles were abstracted using a standardized variable list.
Principal Findings:
The average response rate for mailed physician questionnaires was 61 percent. The average response rate for large sample surveys (> 1,000 observations) was 52 percent. In addition, only 44 percent of the abstracted articles reported a discussion of response bias, and only 54 percent reported any type of follow-up.
Conclusions:
(1) Response rates have remained somewhat constant over time, and (2) researchers need to document the efforts used to increase response rates to mailed physician questionnaires.
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