Incentivizing longitudinal survey research: The impact of mixing guaranteed and non-guaranteed incentives on survey response

This paper examines longitudinal survey response as a product of an alternative incentive structure that mixes guaranteed and non-guaranteed incentives. Specifically, we considered the impact of winning an initial non-guaranteed survey incentive on students’ response to future surveys (both with and without guaranteed incentives). We found that winning or, more importantly, losing the initial incentive predicted future survey response even when future surveys guaranteed a prize. These and other findings are reviewed, adding to the knowledge base of how to most efficiently encourage student survey response in light of financial constraints.