Response probabilities and response-mode preferences in a self-administered survey

Response rates in surveys continue to fall, and electronic online versions are increasingly replacing paper questionnaires in order to save costs and time. This can influence the composition of the respondent group in surveys. Using data from a national survey of patient experiences with maternity care, we aimed to (1) classify all of the women invited to participate in the study according to their different probabilities of responding, based on registry data, and (2) classify all of the respondents according to different probabilities of choosing a paper questionnaire when an online alternative was available, based on registry and self-reported data.

We found that the likelihood of responding to surveys is strongly influenced by background variables, with the age, number of previous births and geographic origin predicting the response probability (range 0.25-0.73). Education level predicted the likelihood of choosing a paper questionnaire. Women with less education would more likely (probability 0.50) than women with more education (probability 0.38) choose a paper questionnaire rather than answering online.