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CHAPTER 5: Survey Research 149Key Conceptusually can be completed relatively quickly. Because they are self-administered,mail surveys also avoid the problems due to interviewer bias (to be defined inthe next section). Among the four survey methods, mail surveys are the bestfor dealing with highly personal or embarrassing topics, especially when anonymityof respondents is preserved.Unfortunately, there are many disadvantages to mail surveys. Some of thesedisadvantages are less serious than others. For instance, because respondents willnot be able to ask questions, the questionnaire used in the survey must be completelyself-explanatory. A second, less serious disadvantage is that the researcherhas little control over the order in which the respondent answers the questions.The order of questions may affect how respondents answer certain questions. Aserious problem with mail surveys, however, is a low response rate that can resultin response rate bias.Response rate refers to the percentage of people who complete the survey.For example, if 30 of 100 people sampled complete the survey, the responserate is 30%. A low response rate indicates there could be a response rate bias thatthreatens the representativeness of a sample. There are many reasons why thisoccurs. For example, respondents with literacy problems, low educationalbackground, or vision problems may not complete the survey; therefore,people with these characteristics may not be represented well in the finalsample of respondents. Often, people randomly selected for a sample are toobusy or not interested enough in the study to return a completed questionnaire.Low response rate (i.e., failure to complete and return the survey) isthe major factor leading to samples that do not represent the population ofinterest, resulting in a response rate bias. Thus, a carefully selected probabilitysample may become a nonprobability sample—a convenience samplein which individuals’ availability and willingness determine whether theycomplete the survey.Unless the return rate is 100%, the potential for response rate bias existsregardless of how carefully the initial sample was selected. However, a lowresponse rate does not automatically indicate the sample does not representthe population. The researcher must demonstrate the extent to which the finalsample of respondents who returned the survey is representative of the population,and that no segment of the population is overrepresented or underrepresented.For example, Berdahl and Moore (2006) commented that their samplelikely underrepresented the harassment experiences of recent immigrants withpoor English skills who may have had difficulty with the questionnaire.The typical return rate for mail surveys is only around 30%. There are thingsyou can do, however, to increase the return rate. Return rates generally will behigher when—the questionnaire has a “personal touch” (e.g., respondents are addressedby name and not simply “resident” or “student”);—responding requires minimal effort from the respondent;—the topic of the survey is of intrinsic interest to the respondent;—the respondent identifies in some way with the organization or researchersponsoring the survey.