Effectiveness of the knock-to-nudge approach for establishing contact with the respondents: evidence from the National Readership Survey in the UK

Maslovskaya, Olga, Domarchi, Cristian and Smith, Peter W.F. (2025) Effectiveness of the knock-to-nudge approach for establishing contact with the respondents: evidence from the National Readership Survey in the UK (Survey Futures Working Papers, 10) University of Essex 35pp.

Abstract

The knock-to-nudge (KtN) approach was introduced in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic as an innovative method to enhance response rates in self-administered high-quality, probability-based surveys. This protocol includes face-to-face interviewers visiting sampled households to encourage participants to take part in a non-face-to-face survey at a later date. Initially implemented as a response to the COVID-19 restrictions, KtN proved successful in boosting response rates, and several UK agencies continued its use post-pandemic. However, the literature has not yet systematically evaluated how KtN affects sample representativeness,data quality, and substantive survey variables. We examine these aspects using data from the National Readership Survey (PAMCo), a mixed-mode survey that employs a two-stage recruitment process. The initial stage involves mail contact (invitation plus two reminders),with participants responding online or via a paper questionnaire. Non-responding households then receive personal visits, where interviewers first offer computer assisted-personal interviews (CAPI). Online and paper alternatives are offered to respondents only if they refuse the CAPI option. This final recruitment phase is referred to here as KtN. Our findings demonstrate that the KtN recruitment phase is associated with: (1) a significant increase in response rates, (2) improved sample composition, (3) higher item non-response, and (4) a greater proportion of respondents who do not read newspapers and magazines. These results suggest that KtN can be an effective tool for enhancing participation and representativeness in self-administered surveys. However, its viability as a universal solution for mixed-mode surveys depends on whether these methodological benefits outweigh the potential compromises in data quality and the additional implementation costs. As this approach is still very new, further research is needed to explore its effectiveness in other contexts.

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Contributors

Author: Olga Maslovskaya

Author: Cristian Domarchi

Author: Peter W.F. Smith

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