Mail surveys remain an effective and popular mode of data collection, given the relatively low and decreasing response rates of Web surveys (Sheehan, 2001) and the unreliability of e-mail addresses as compared to physical addresses (Crawford et al., 2002; Shannon & Bradshow, 2002).  This article addresses the implications of using return receipts/address updates to reduce the costs of self-administered mail surveys at Penn State Harrisburg (PSH).  We build upon Dillman’s (2000, 1991) widely-used approach of multiple contact surveys to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness and improvement in completion rates using return receipts.

We found that having valid addresses has the potential of reducing costs associated with a mail survey (e.g. copy costs, postage, etc.).  However, in determining the efficacy of the return receipt method a priori, two features of the survey must be considered:  (1) the relative cost between the return receipt and the additional mailings, and (2) the ratio between usable (deliverable) and non-usable (un-deliverable) addresses (see appendix for a model that demonstrates the utility of return receipts). If the ratio of bad-to-good addresses is higher than the cost of the return receipt relative to the cost of additional mailings, then return receipts are cost-effective.