Postal Surveys

Generally speaking, a postal survey consists of a questionnaire mailed to a named individual or an address. It is a data collection method in its own right. Postal surveys are often used when an accurate database or a reliable source of names and addresses is available. It is also useful when a client has a limited budget, as it is usually much cheaper than other research methodologies, such as face-to-face or telephone surveys.

Postal surveys are particularly useful if the sample is geographically dispersed, either nationally or internationally. They are a good way to generate a large sample cost effectively, and to access hard-to-reach groups such as young people or high profile business people. Respondents can complete questions at their leisure and answer difficult questions without time pressure, and can refer to other sources of information.

They are also useful for tasks that require a long period of completion, such as a diary of TV viewing or shopping habits, or require information to be recorded at relevant points rather than relying on a recall approach in an interview.

We have extensive experience of achieving good response rates with postal surveys. If done correctly, postal surveys are a cost effective alternative to face-to-face or telephone interviews. They can often be the only solution or can be tailored for use in conjunction with other offline or online methods.

Ipsos MORI has a team dedicated to designing and delivering postal projects. These researchers are supported by a postal administration team who co-ordinate the coding, editing, validation and scanning functions who, in the past year, have processed more than 4.5 million completed postal questionnaires.

In addition, we have a team who are experts in the handling and processing of high profile and politically sensitive Consultation responses from citizens, businesses and other stakeholders and in 2008 alone processed almost 170,000 consultation responses.

Our in-house scanning facilities offer the latest scanning technology which ensures that all data is fully cleaned and verified via the in-built logic and validation programmes.

Our postal and consultation teams are supported by our in-house specialist statistical sampling team who advise on survey design and provide sample representative of the population being studied and the data delivery teams who code, process and provide the data deliverables.