“Real Solutions” from the 6th Annual Respondent Cooperation Workshop
By Patrick Glaser, CMOR, Director of Respondent Cooperation
December 2007

This year’s "Real Solutions" Respondent Cooperation Workshop proved to be another successful event thanks to the Workshop attendees, volunteers and presenters. In its sixth year, the Workshop has continued to grow in attendance, as well as breadth of content.

5 “Take-Aways”
The goal of CMOR’s Respondent Cooperation Workshop is to provide attendees with information and techniques that they can immediately bring home and apply within their companies and organizations. To that end, the Workshop includes presentations that deal with concrete solutions and practices, as well as breakout brainstorming discussion sessions where attendees can learn of practices that their colleagues have been implementing to tackle issues of respondent cooperation.

Listed below are 5 “take-aways” as a brief recap of just a few of the many solutions presented at the Workshop:

1. The introduction matters
   CMOR has begun a regular experimental study that will show the effect that different phrases used in survey introductions have on respondent cooperation. Preliminary findings (for online panels) show that introductions promising gift cards, cash drawings and cash incentives gain greater cooperation than other, less tangible incentives such as frequent flyer miles or receiving study results (P.Glaser CMOR).
   
2. Support the respondent’s decision-making process…
   People make decisions based on a number of factors: their sense of autonomy, competence, relatedness, value, etc. Address these needs throughout the survey. For example, emphasize autonomy to respondents by explicitly offering them (and noting their control) control over certain factors; noting their ability to review the survey introduction, move on to the next question at the time of their choosing, etc. (J.Lorch, SSI).
   
3. Go off-script (a little)…
   Allowing interviewers (in telephone surveys) to have some freedom to connect with the respondent at the beginning of the interview can lead to improved respondent cooperation. (M.Cralley, Arbitron).
   
4. Tailor to national origin
   Hispanics may be more likely to participate in research if they are approached with their national origin in mind. Cultural differences should be respected when contacting respondents for interviews. One way to do this is through tailoring language to the specific country of origin. For example, there are at least 10 different ways to say the word “girl” in Spanish- choose the one that fits your respondent’s background (JCA, Latin Visa).
   
5. Additional offerings can help retain online panelists
   There are numerous services a panel organization may offer to maintain membership. A few examples of include a member web page, raffles & sweepstakes, surprise appreciation awards and support via email & phone (C. Disogra, Knowledge Networks).

These are just a few of many solutions that were presented to attendees at the “Real Solutions” Workshop. If you weren’t able to attend in 2007, there’s always next year! The CMOR Workshop Program Committee is busy planning the Workshop events for our next conference, only a few months away!

Please Join Us in March!

The next workshop will be held from March 3-5 th at the Ballys Hotel in Las Vegas. Registration is now open as well as sponsorship opportunities. To find out more information, please go to www.cmor.org.