Increasing Response Rates among Coaches: The Role of Prenotification Methods
in Journal of Sport ManagementClick name to view affiliation
This study determined whether, in a population of intercollegiate head coaches, prenotification had a significant influence on the return rate of mailed questionnaires. Acknowledging the growing use of e-mail and the Internet for survey distribution, the current study evaluated the effectiveness of e-mail as a prenotification technique, Response rates of Intercollegiate Head Coaches to mailed questionnaires from two separate samples were analyzed. Comparisons were made based upon the categorization of coaches into groups of prenotification by e-mail, formal letter, and a non-prenotified control group. Results indicated that prenotification of the survey recipients significantly increased response rates, with the group receiving e-mail prenotification having the highest response rate among the three groups. In addition to being cost effective for researchers, e-mail prenotification was an effective way to increase both the number and variety of contacts with survey recipients.
A. Kent is with the Department of Sport Management and Physical Education, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL. B. Turner is with the Department of Business, DeSales University, Center Valley, PA.
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