title: Pre-Survey Text Messages (SMS) Improve Participation Rate in an Australian Mobile Telephone Survey: An Experimental Study.
abstract: Mobile telephone numbers are increasingly being included in household surveys samples. As approach letters cannot be sent because many do not have address details, alternatives approaches have been considered. This study assesses the effectiveness of sending a short message service (SMS) to a random sample of mobile telephone numbers to increase response rates. A simple random sample of 9000 Australian mobile telephone numbers: 4500 were randomly assigned to be sent a pre-notification SMS, and the remaining 4500 did not have a SMS sent. Adults aged 18 years and over, and currently in paid employment, were eligible to participate. American Association for Public Opinion Research formulas were used to calculated response cooperation and refusal rates. Response and cooperation rate were higher for the SMS groups (12.4% and 28.6% respectively) than the group with no SMS (7.7% and 16.0%). Refusal rates were lower for the SMS group (27.3%) than the group with no SMS (35.9%). When asked, 85.8% of the pre-notification group indicated they remembered receiving a SMS about the study. Sending a pre-notification SMS is effective in improving participation in population-based surveys. Response rates were increased by 60% and cooperation rates by 79%.
authors.affiliation: Population Research and Outcome Studies, School of Medicine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Eleonora
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dal Grande
authors.affiliation: School of Population Health, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Catherine Ruth
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Chittleborough
authors.affiliation: Population Research and Outcome Studies, School of Medicine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.|University Ca' Foscari, Venice, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Campostrini
authors.affiliation: Asia Pacific Centre for Work Health and Safety, School of Psychology, Social Work & Social Policy, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Maureen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dollard
authors.affiliation: Population Research and Outcome Studies, School of Medicine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Anne Winifred
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Taylor
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia; D040421:Cell Phone; D003256:Community Participation / Q000523:psychology; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D045808:Refusal to Participate / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012494:Sampling Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D060145:Text Messaging; D017132:Workplace