Effects of Color, Format, and Severity of Issue on Response Rate of Mail Questionnaires When Respondent Population Has Some Familiarity with Sender.

The effects of (1) format and color, and (2) severity of issue (freeze damage to citrus industry) on response rate of mail questionnaires is presented. Questionnaires were formatted in two different ways: a one page, legal size printed on both sides, and one sheet 11- by 17-inch size center-folded with items on three pages. Two colors were used: white and buff. These combinations resulted in four different format/color combinations which were randomly mailed to 2,322 citrus producers and grove managers. The Chi-square test for homogeneity of proportions was used to treat the data concerning format and colors. Correlation was used to determine if response rate was influenced by severity of freeze damage. A response rate of 61 percent was obtained. There was no significant overall effect of format and color of mail questionnaires on response rate. There was a significant (.05) relationship between severity of freeze damage and rate of response--the more severe the freeze, the greater the response rate. These findings support the reviewed literature concerning the effects of format and indicating an association between rate of response and degree of interest in topic. (Author/PN)