Making energy surveys more impactful: Testing material and non-monetary response strategies

Recent years have seen a growth in energy research that integrates social and behavioural sciences. A core component of this work involves collecting human data, commonly via surveys and field experiments. But there are often barriers to recruiting large and representative samples of participants, with sampling bias and non-response error posing threats to validity. Identifying cost-effective ways to increase participation in energy research is therefore important for strengthening the rigor, utility and generalisability of studies in this area. To this end, the current study harnesses an experimental design to test pathways for making energy surveys more impactful – specifically by improving response rates and times, lowering sampling bias, and enhancing overall cost-effectiveness. As part of a postal survey on household energy use in Australia, a set of randomised controlled trials were conducted to test the impact of four strategies: incentives, an envelope message, a handwritten sticky note, and a reminder postcard. A 3 x 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design was applied to assess both individual and interactive effects. While material incentives in the form of an upfront token gift and prize draw were ineffective in improving response relative to the control survey, results revealed that a handwritten sticky note expressing upfront thanks for participating – designed to serve as an intrinsically motivating attentional cue – improved both the rate and timeliness of response. Three combinations of strategies yielded significantly higher response rates than the control, but they were more expensive on a ‘dollar cost per response’ basis. Implications for research and practice are discussed.