This research note describes the use of postcards as a data collection instrument for mailed surveys. Postcard survey instruments provide surveyors the advantages of both low cost and high response rates. Past uses of postcard surveys have yielded response rates of between 77% and 100%, with only one or two waves of mailing. Suggested uses for this unique survey instrument and tips on utilizing it are offered.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Couper, D. C. , & Lobitz, S. A. (1991). Quality policing: The Madison experience. Washington, DC: Police Executive Research Forum.
2.
Dillman, D. A. (1978). Mail and telephone surveys: The Total Design Method. New York: John Wiley.
3.
King, W. R. (1999a). Time, constancy, and change in American municipal police organizations. Police Quarterly, 2, 338-364.
4.
King, W. R. (1999b, November). Toward a population ecology model of police organizations: Ohio 1980-1999. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Toronto, Canada.
5.
Maxfield, M. G. , & Babbie, E. (1998). Research methods for criminal justice and criminology (2nd ed.). Boston: West/Wadsworth.
6.
Moore, M. H. (2000, November). A conceptual and practical method for measuring police performance. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, San Francisco.
7.
Reiss, A. J. (1971). The police and the public. New Haven: Yale University Press.
8.
Travis, L. F. , Novak, K. J., Winston, C. N., & Hurley, D. C. (2000). Cops at the door: The impact of citizen surveys by police on public attitudes. Police Quarterly, 3, 85-104.
9.
U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics . (1997). Law enforcement management and administrative statistics. (ICPSR ed.). Conducted by U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census (producer). Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (distributor), 1999.
10.
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance . (1993). A police guide to surveying citizens and their environment. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance [Online]. Available: www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles/polc.pdf
11.
U.S. Postal Service . (2001). Domestic mail manual. First Class Mail, Section C100.2 (Characteristics and Content), 56 [Online]. Available: http://pe.usps.gov/cpim/ftp/manuals/Dmm/dmmtc.pdf
12.
Webb, V. J. , & Katz, C. M. (1997). The importance of community policing: Citizen ratings of the importance of community policing activities. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, 20, 7-23.
13.
Weisel, D. (1999). Conducting community surveys: A practical guide for law enforcement agencies (NCJ 178246). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Available online: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/ccspglea.pdf
14.
Weiss, A. (1992). The innovation process in public Organizations: Patterns of diffusion and adoption in American policing. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Northwestern University.
15.
Weiss, A. (1997). The communication of innovation in American policing. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, 20, 292-310.
