This resource corresponds to Module 4.

Drop-off Surveys. Researchers sometimes deliver print questionnaires to respondents (for example, at their homes) and pick up the completed questionnaires later (or leave a self-addressed, stamped envelope). Though labor-intensive, this method has proven to be a good way to increase your response rate.

Take-Home Surveys. A common method for obtaining data from the parents of school children is to send questionnaires home with students. After the parents complete the questionnaires, the questionnaires are returned to school by the student or mailed in a self-addressed, stamped envelope. As you might suspect, many of these questionnaires do not actually reach the parents or end up on the "papers from school" stack on the dining room table.

Electronic Surveys. Virtual print questionnaires can be administered on a computer, a Web site, or by e-mail. The responses can be automatically fed into a database that manages and analyzes the data as they arrive. In some cases (for example, in a school) younger respondents who are comfortable communicating online may be more willing to answer an electronic questionnaire than a printed questionnaire. However, electronic surveys are costly to create. They limit your respondents to people who own and/or use computers (unless you can afford to set up computer stations to use in your survey). It is also difficult to track who has participated while keeping the survey anonymous or confidential. As with mail surveys, surveys administered via the Web or e-mail also may not achieve a high response rate unless an incentive is offered.