This brief describes the importance of boosting questionnaire response rates to increase the validity and usefulness of your results. It includes an explanation of what response rate is; strategies to increase response rates; special considerations for Internet questionnaires; and additional strategies to boost response rates.
Definition of response rate
In the simplest sense, response rate is the number of participants who completed a questionnaire divided
by the total number of participants who were asked to participate. However, calculating response rates can
be more complex depending on the design of your evaluation. Failure to achieve an adequate response rate can limit the usefulness of your results. The determination of what constitutes an adequate response rate should be based on the evaluation design, how the results will be used, and standard practice.
“We acknowledge that we are on and support Mentoring for Youth in the traditional territories across Alberta of the many First Nations from Treaty 6,7,& 8, the Métis of the 8 Alberta Settlements, and Inuit people whose footsteps have marked these lands for centuries.”
