A very low response rate in an on-line survey of medical practitioners

Objective: To report on the response rate achieved in a survey of medical practitioners and discuss the reasons for it. Method: An on-line (internet-based) survey of all 609 registered pharmacotherapy prescribers in Victoria and Queensland; invitations to participate were sent by mail in late April...

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Main Authors: Aitken, C., Power, R., Dwyer, Robyn
Format: Journal Article
Published: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia 2008
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/16488
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author Aitken, C.
Power, R.
Dwyer, Robyn
author_facet Aitken, C.
Power, R.
Dwyer, Robyn
author_sort Aitken, C.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Objective: To report on the response rate achieved in a survey of medical practitioners and discuss the reasons for it. Method: An on-line (internet-based) survey of all 609 registered pharmacotherapy prescribers in Victoria and Queensland; invitations to participate were sent by mail in late April 2007, and one reminder letter in late May 2007. Results: Six hundred and nine invitation letters were mailed, nine were returned to sender, and 52 questionnaires completed, making the overall response rate 52/600 = 8.7%. The response rate in Queensland was 13.2% (16/121), and in Victoria 7.5% (36/479). Conclusion(s): Despite utilising sound techniques, our response rate was much lower than those achieved in recent Australian paper-based surveys of medical practitioners. It is possible that the issue being addressed (injecting-related injuries and diseases) was not of high priority for many invitees, leading to reduced response. Implications: On-line surveys are not yet an effective method of collecting data from Australian medical practitioners; researchers should continue to use paper © 2008 The Authors. Journal Compilation © 2008 Public Health Association of Australia.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-164882017-09-13T15:42:22Z A very low response rate in an on-line survey of medical practitioners Aitken, C. Power, R. Dwyer, Robyn Objective: To report on the response rate achieved in a survey of medical practitioners and discuss the reasons for it. Method: An on-line (internet-based) survey of all 609 registered pharmacotherapy prescribers in Victoria and Queensland; invitations to participate were sent by mail in late April 2007, and one reminder letter in late May 2007. Results: Six hundred and nine invitation letters were mailed, nine were returned to sender, and 52 questionnaires completed, making the overall response rate 52/600 = 8.7%. The response rate in Queensland was 13.2% (16/121), and in Victoria 7.5% (36/479). Conclusion(s): Despite utilising sound techniques, our response rate was much lower than those achieved in recent Australian paper-based surveys of medical practitioners. It is possible that the issue being addressed (injecting-related injuries and diseases) was not of high priority for many invitees, leading to reduced response. Implications: On-line surveys are not yet an effective method of collecting data from Australian medical practitioners; researchers should continue to use paper © 2008 The Authors. Journal Compilation © 2008 Public Health Association of Australia. 2008 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/16488 10.1111/j.1753-6405.2008.00232.x Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia unknown
spellingShingle Aitken, C.
Power, R.
Dwyer, Robyn
A very low response rate in an on-line survey of medical practitioners
title A very low response rate in an on-line survey of medical practitioners
title_full A very low response rate in an on-line survey of medical practitioners
title_fullStr A very low response rate in an on-line survey of medical practitioners
title_full_unstemmed A very low response rate in an on-line survey of medical practitioners
title_short A very low response rate in an on-line survey of medical practitioners
title_sort very low response rate in an on-line survey of medical practitioners
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/16488