Response rate comparisons of e-mail- and mail-distributed student evaluations.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education Research
• Survey Methodology

Background:

• Increasing reliance on electronic information systems for data collection.
• Limited research on email use for curriculum evaluations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the efficacy of emailed versus mailed educational evaluations.
• Focus on 4th-year medical students' survey responses.

Main Methods:

• Random assignment of 4th-year medical students to receive surveys via mail or email.
• Data collection and comparison of response rates and item completion.

Main Results:

• Mailed evaluations achieved higher return rates.
• Fewer students omitted items on mailed surveys.
• Shorter responses to open-ended questions were observed in email surveys.

Conclusions:

• Email surveys may result in lower response rates and data quality issues.
• Findings suggest caution when implementing email for medical student curriculum evaluations.
• Further research needed due to limitations in generalizability (low response rates, small sample size).