OBJECTIVE: To test a possible day-of-the-week effect on doctors' response rate to a postal questionnaire. DESIGN: Dispatch of postal questionnaire randomized to Thursday or Saturday. SETTING: A nationwide survey on doctors' attitudes. SUBJECTS:200 general practitioners and 260 practising specialists/consultants. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Response rate and Kaplan-Meier survival curve for no-response. RESULTS: The probability of response was not influenced by receiving the questionnaire just before or just after a week-end. CONCLUSION:Response rates in postal surveys sent to doctors cannot be improved by their receiving the questionnaire just before a week-end.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: To test a possible day-of-the-week effect on doctors' response rate to a postal questionnaire. DESIGN: Dispatch of postal questionnaire randomized to Thursday or Saturday. SETTING: A nationwide survey on doctors' attitudes. SUBJECTS: 200 general practitioners and 260 practising specialists/consultants. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Response rate and Kaplan-Meier survival curve for no-response. RESULTS: The probability of response was not influenced by receiving the questionnaire just before or just after a week-end. CONCLUSION: Response rates in postal surveys sent to doctors cannot be improved by their receiving the questionnaire just before a week-end.
Authors: Elie A Akl; Swarna Gaddam; Reem Mustafa; Mark C Wilson; Andrew Symons; Ann Grifasi; Denise McGuigan; Holger J Schünemann Journal: PLoS One Date: 2011-02-23 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Ryuhei So; Kiyomi Shinohara; Takuya Aoki; Yasushi Tsujimoto; Aya M Suganuma; Toshi A Furukawa Journal: J Med Internet Res Date: 2018-02-08 Impact factor: 5.428
Authors: Philip James Edwards; Ian Roberts; Mike J Clarke; Carolyn Diguiseppi; Reinhard Wentz; Irene Kwan; Rachel Cooper; Lambert M Felix; Sarah Pratap Journal: Cochrane Database Syst Rev Date: 2009-07-08