ESRA 2027 sessions by theme

Back to Overview of Sessions

Session Details

As social surveys across Europe increasingly adopt self-completion modes, identifying effective ways to improve response rates, while limiting non-response bias and maintaining data quality, has become an even more pressing methodological priority. This session invites papers that present experimental evidence, methodological evaluations, or practical experiences aimed at increasing response rates of web and/or paper self-completion questionnaires. We welcome contributions from cross-national surveys as well as national or regional initiatives. Topics may include, but are not limited to, experiments on invitation and reminder strategies, incentive designs, mixed-mode approaches, questionnaire design, respondent communication, fieldwork interventions, and innovations in survey management and operations. Experiments on tailored recruitment strategies for hard-to-reach subgroups are also encouraged.

Papers that demonstrate improvements in response rates are valuable, but equally important are studies showing limited or no effects, as these contribute to cumulative methodological knowledge and help researchers avoid ineffective approaches. We also welcome practice-oriented contributions describing operational trials, lessons learned, and implementation challenges.

The session aims to bring together survey methodologists and practitioners to advance the evidence base on improving participation in self-completion questionnaires and identify promising directions for future survey design and fieldwork practice.