Survey researchers are concerned that lack of anonymity in mail surveys might adversely affect respondents’ willingness to respond to the survey or to reveal their true opinions. There has been research on whether graphics on the questionnaire cover affect willingness to respond to mail surveys, but no study has discussed whether identification designs affect data quality. This article explores how three identifier designs affect item nonresponse and socially undesirable answers for two sensitive topics in medical biotechnology. Results indicate that questionnaires with no identifiers induce less item nonresponse and reveal more socially undesirable answers than those with identifiers but no significant difference between the two identifier designs. Implications for survey research practice are discussed.
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