A second pre-incentive and real-time monitoring

Abstract

Evidence shows that pre-incentives can increase survey response rates, but effectiveness depend on factors such as timing and incentive structure. The National Dementia Workforce Study $#40NDWS$#41 Community Clinician Survey in the Wave 1 phase, randomized 25,000 clinicians to three experiment incentive groups: 1) a $100 post-paid; 2) a $125 early-bird post-paid for surveys completed within 10 days, then $100 post-paid thereafter; or 3) a split-incentive with $10 cash pre-incentive and a $90 post-paid. After the initial invitation and one reminder, all sampled clinicians received a second $10 cash pre-incentive with a paper (PAPI) follow-up mailing. We present AAPOR-Standard response rate comparisons across experiment arms following the second pre-incentive and identify which incentive structures yielded the highest response rate. The presentation highlights the technological systems and workflows that supported the experiment. We describe our integrated monitoring dashboard used for real-time response tracking by treatment arm and clinician type, automated system triggers for web, email and PAPI follow-ups, and field staff workflow coordination. We present web-survey outreach innovations used in fielding including personalized links, targeted early bird messaging, paradata capture (timing and device), and adaptive reminders. Attendees will gain evidence-driven findings on pre-incentive effectiveness plus practical guidance on dashboard features, paradata to monitor, and workflow practices needed to run similar, technology-enabled experiments with hard-to-reach professional populations.