2003 Volume 19 Issue 2 Pages 116-123
The objectives of this study were to identify characteristics of items which are susceptible to missing values in mail surveys, as well as characteristics of the people who fail to respond, for people aged 60 + . The item characteristics under study were: the location of the item, item branching and extension, fact or opinion items, the number of response alternatives, and the total number of words in the item. The results showed a robust effect for item blanching on the missing value rate. As for respondents, age, sex, education, health and financial condition, household composition, and offering of comments were examined. Age, education, health, and household composition were related to the missing value rate. These findings suggest that special attention is required in designing questionnaires.
