CONSEQUENCES OF LARGE MONETARY INCENTIVES IN MAIL SURVEYS OF ELITES

Research concerning incentives and responses to mail questionnaires usually deals with the effects on response rates of payments of less than a dollar and with mass respondents. This article reports the results of an international mail survey of elite respondents using incentives ranging from 0 to 50 dollars. The study found that larger incentives have a slight positive effect on the response rate and a substantial effect on response quality. The implications of these findings for cost-effective research are discussed. ©Public Opinion Quarterly.