Mail Surveys vs. Web Surveys: A Comparison

After you have determined your survey design (see related article) – including establishing informational goals of the survey, how you will use or apply the information to your organization, and defining the sample population – you need to choose your interviewing methodology.

This tutorial will compare mail surveys to Web surveys. However, both types have distinct advantages and disadvantages, so you must carefully assess your specific needs before deciding which method you will implement.

Mail Surveys

Surveying by mail is a recommended option when your desired sample consists of respondents with higher educational and literacy levels, and people with an interest in the subject being surveyed. In addition, special mailing lists are available to assist you in reaching your target population. It is also possible to have a larger universe (sample of respondents) with a mail survey because it does not require personal contact between the respondents and the researcher.

Advantages of this method include: it is easy and relatively low-cost to let the postal service do the leg work of delivering the surveys; mailing costs are geographically uniform; respondents can answer at their leisure; and any potential interviewer bias may be reduced due to lack of contact with the interviewer.

Disadvantages of this method include: response rates from individuals with lower literacy levels are often too small to be useful, thereby eliminating immigrant populations in many areas that represent substantial markets; overall response rates are historically very low, averaging approximately 20% (see related article) and, depending on your target population, sending surveys only to people with high literacy levels or with specialized interests could result in a biased sample.

The Bottom Line

Survey efforts that may benefit most from a mail survey are those requiring a sample of respondents with a high literacy rate, or those with specialized interests (assuming the sample is in alignment with your desired target population). The survey effort will have a focus on keeping costs low, making survey completion convenient for respondents, and reaching a larger universe.

Web Surveys

Surveying via the Web is rapidly gaining popularity for data collection efforts focusing on segments of the Internet user population. Whether to implement a Web survey vs. a mail survey relies largely on the desired target population in your survey effort: Web surveys will go to Internet users only, while mail surveys may be distributed to a more general population (i.e., without Internet access).

Advantages of Web surveys include: faster speed of responses, substantially reduced cost, and increased respondent flexibility. A survey posted on a popular Web site can collect thousands of responses in just a few hours. Further, once setup is completed, there is virtually no cost associated with a web survey; therefore, data from both large and small samples cost the same to process. In addition, Web surveys are a great tool if you want to target a specific population, such as other businesses in your industry or internal employee attitudes.

Disadvantages of Web surveys include: they typically do not reflect the general population; respondent survey completion rates are lower for longer surveys; and random respondents — outside of your target population — may reply if your survey appears on a Web page without password protection or other means of controlling access.

The Bottom Line

Survey efforts that may benefit most from a Web survey are those requiring a sample of a specific Internet user population, with the ability to keep costs low and analyze data rapidly.