Book Review
Mail and Internet Surveys: The Tailored Design Method
Don A. Dillman
ISBN: 978-0470038-56-7 2006 544 pages Wiley
Thomas A Laws
Lecturer, Division of Health Science, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of South Australia, Adelaide SA
Don Dillman’s 1978 text Mail and Telephone Surveys: The Total Design Method has become a pivotal reference for researchers using the survey method, and his second edition of Mail and Internet Surveys (2000) builds on this past success. The book contains large numbers of examples of problematic survey questions and formatting styles, to which Dillman applies revisions/corrections. These changes are then justified using plausible rationale. Importantly, there are full-page examples of completed questionnaires and in some cases there are visual comparisons between the same type of survey conducted several years on. Consequently, the comparisons allow the reader to appreciate the evolution of the questionnaire as an increasingly sophisticated method of data collection. This style of presentation is invaluable for beginner researchers seeking to grasp the fundamentals of questionnaire design, as well as a reference point for competent researchers. The examples set out by Dillman range across social surveys, government surveys and surveys by NGOs.
While these examples are North American, they can be applied to the Australian context. It is obvious to the reader that the author has extensive experience in marketing and government surveys (e.g. schools, taxation, national parks), yet there are no examples of health-orientated questionnaires. This should not discourage the health researcher from purchasing this text, because Dillman so clearly explains and exemplifies concepts supporting the formulation of a good survey, that the reader can easily apply them to health issues such as levels of patient satisfaction or health professionals’ attitudes toward protocols and practices. The overarching approach of the text is to emphasise the importance of tailoring the construction of a survey to the situation in which it will be applied.
Dillman likens the impact of the introduction of random sampling in the 1940s and interviewing by telephone in the 1970s to the significance of the emergence of e-mail and Internet surveys. Cognisant of declining response rates to surveys in general, Dillman offers a range of strategies, in the form of incentives (e.g. token and monetary) to encourage those selected in the sample to return their completed questionnaires. Further to this point, Dillman promotes and instructs on the use of Internet and interactive voice-response surveys. As an aid to understanding the benefits of the electronic survey, in terms of data coding and data processing, Dillman graphically depicts a comparison of different survey methods with this technology. His final chapter considers what the future might hold for those seeking to design electronic self-response surveys. This text would be a valuable addition to the reference library of those using survey research or teaching various methods.
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