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Methods to Test Visual Attention Online
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The day-of-invitation effect on participation in web-based studies.

Hans-Georg Wolff1, Anja S Göritz2

  • 1Organizational and Economic Psychology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany. hans-georg.wolff@uni-koeln.de.

Behavior Research Methods
|October 29, 2021
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Summary

Inviting participants to online studies via email on a specific day can influence participation. Research shows response rates are highest early in the workweek, suggesting optimal invitation timing for web-based research.

Keywords:
Day of the weekInvitationResponseRetentionWeb-based research

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Area of Science:

  • Social Sciences
  • Psychology
  • Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

  • Effective recruitment strategies are crucial for the success of web-based research.
  • Existing methods for promoting participation in online studies vary in cost and effectiveness.
  • Theories on weekly variations in mood and work performance suggest a potential day-of-invitation effect.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of the day of the week invitations are sent on participation in web-based research.
  • To determine if a 'day-of-invitation' effect influences both response rate and retention rate in online studies.
  • To explore potential mechanisms behind any observed day-of-invitation effects.

Main Methods:

  • Conducted five experiments with large, diverse participant samples.
  • Analyzed response rates (initial engagement) and retention rates (study completion) based on email invitation day.
  • Utilized statistical analysis to identify significant day-of-invitation effects.

Main Results:

  • A small but statistically significant day-of-invitation effect was observed.
  • Response rates were highest at the start of the workweek (Monday/Tuesday) and declined towards Friday.
  • The decline in response rate was more pronounced for employed individuals compared to non-employed individuals.

Conclusions:

  • The day of the week an email invitation is sent can influence participation in web-based research.
  • To maximize response rates, invitations should ideally be sent early in the workweek, specifically Monday or Tuesday.
  • Further research is needed to fully understand the patterns affecting retention rates.