Getting More Eyes (and Clicks) on Surveys: 5 Strategies for Better Response Rates

Surveys are a powerful tool for gathering insights—but only if people actually respond. Whether you're seeking feedback from students, staff, or community members, low response rates can lead to skewed results. In an age of constant digital noise, simply sending a survey isn’t enough. Fortunately, a few simple tweaks can go a long way. While there is no guaranteed way formula for increasing response rates, these five practical strategies can make a big difference.

1.      Make it Personal: People are more likely to engage when they feel seen and more likely to respond when they feel the message was meant specifically for them. At a minimum, make sure that you are writing surveys with your target respondents in mind. The language you use matters, and even a small touch like a friendly subject line in the invitation can increase open rates. A quick statement explaining why you want their feedback can also go a long way. For example, “We need your help to make SEG better for students like you!”

2.      Keep it Short and Simple: Aim for surveys that take 5-10 minutes or less. Shorter surveys yield higher completion rates. Try to imagine the competing time demands of respondents and look for opportunities to shorten the survey. After you finish writing a survey, review the entire questionnaire to identify questions you can eliminate.

3.      Timing is Everything: If the survey asks about a recent event or interaction, send it as soon afterward as possible – ideally within 24 hours. QR codes at the exit are a smart real-time capture method.  Unless your event or interaction occurs near a major holiday, try to avoid sending surveys during these times. There is no single “best day,” but multiple studies have indicated that Monday and Tuesday mornings are good times to send surveys.

4.      Make it Mobile-Friendly: Smart phone use has skyrocketed – 91% of Americans now have one, up from just 56% in 2011 (Pew Research Center, 2024). SurveyMonkey (2025) reported a 5.2% increase in respondents taking surveys on mobile devices from 2020 to 2023, a change that was more prominent in the U.S. than in other countries. More importantly, 15% of Americans report relying solely on their phones for internet access, making mobile optimization essential.

5.      Follow up (but don’t spam): Most people don’t ignore surveys because they’re not interested – they just forget. Providing a friendly reminder request after a few days can boost responses. SurveyMonkey recommends sending a reminder between 48 and 72 hours after the initial survey invitation. Good practice is to send one or two reminder emails to avoid overwhelming recipients.

Offering small rewards can be powerful motivators to complete a survey. These incentives might include money, a gift card, a small thank-you item, or entrance into a raffle. When you offer incentives, it is important to:

·        Keep participation voluntary and transparent;

·        Choose incentives appropriate for your audience;

·        Match the reward to the effort required; and

·        Consider how incentives might bias your sample.

Shaffer Evaluation Group (SEG) supports many clients in designing surveys and collecting responses to better understand student, staff, and community responses to projects and programs. If you’re interested in hearing more about how SEG can help you create and send effective surveys, contact us for a free 30-minute consultation: seg@shafferevaluation.com. 

Woman completing an exit survey

Combating the Summer Slide: Effective Practices in Summer Programming for Students

Summer is a time for relaxation, exploration, and play. But for many elementary and middle school students, it's also a period when academic skills can slip—a phenomenon known as the "summer slide." Past research has demonstrated that students can lose up to two months of reading and math knowledge over the summer if they’re not engaged in educational activities (Cooper et al., 1996). Effective summer programming can not only prevent this loss but even help students make academic gains.

We've compiled a list of effective practices in summer programming to support your planning as a teacher and/or parent.

1. Focused Academic Enrichment

Successful summer programs integrate structured academic learning with fun, hands-on activities. Programs that include daily reading and math lessons, especially those personalized to student ability levels, show the strongest results. For example, small-group instruction in literacy, where students engage in guided reading and vocabulary-building games, can dramatically maintain or improve reading proficiency (Kim & Quinn, 2013).

2. Hands-On, Project-Based Learning

Project-based learning (PBL) fosters creativity and critical thinking. Whether students are building a solar oven or writing and staging their own play, hands-on activities deepen engagement and retention. Summer STEM camps that incorporate robotics, coding, or environmental science are particularly effective in keeping students curious and cognitively active.

3. Strong Teacher-Student Relationships

Programs staffed by trained educators who build strong, supportive relationships with students tend to be more effective. When students feel valued and understood, they are more motivated to learn. A low student-to-teacher ratio allows for individualized support, enhancing both academic outcomes and emotional development.

4. Fun and Flexibility

Balance is key. The best programs mix academics with outdoor recreation, field trips, and arts-based activities. When learning is fun, students are more likely to return AND to retain what they’ve learned.

5. Parent and Community Involvement

Parental support and community partnerships expand program resources and encourage consistent participation. Programs that include regular communication with families—such as sending home books or tips for summer learning—are more likely to reinforce academic habits beyond the classroom.

Summer doesn’t have to be a time of academic backsliding. With the right blend of engaging instruction, enrichment, and community support, summer programs can boost student confidence and keep the learning momentum going strong into the new school year.

References:

• Cooper, H., Nye, B., Charlton, K., Lindsay, J., & Greathouse, S. (1996). The effects of summer vacation on achievement test scores: A narrative and meta-analytic review. Review of Educational Research, 66(3), 227–268.

• Kim, J.S., & Quinn, D.M. (2013). The effects of summer reading on low-income children's literacy achievement from kindergarten to grade 8: A meta-analysis of classroom and home interventions. Review of Educational Research, 83(3), 386–431.

The Important Role of Evaluation in Research: Exploring, Documenting, and Improving the Process of Scientific Investigation

Everyday, based on our search history, algorithms push snippets of the latest findings of scientific studies about topics that are important to us. What these snippets rarely highlight are the important, sometimes “behind the scenes,” evaluation activities that are central to successful research endeavors. Many of us don’t consider (may not even have known about) the important role of evaluation within (as part of) research studies. So just what role do evaluators play in research? Let’s explore this a bit here - 

We all know that researchers aim to produce knowledge by answering research questions through formal processes of scientific inquiry (experimental designs, quasi-experimental designs, etc.), using structured protocols that engage a specified set of investigators who implement specific interventions. Evaluators, on the other hand, come from outside the set of study investigators, providing independent “feedback” to researchers, and at times their advisory boards, on study implementation, impacts, and outcomes.

Evaluators help researchers learn more about their intervention processes than just the impact on the study subject(s). Evaluators embedded in research projects assist researchers in understanding the fidelity and effectiveness study intervention components using formal evaluation practices including:

• evaluations of fidelity (to what extent have the study interventions been implemented as designed?);

• formative evaluations (to what extent has the study achieved its intended outputs? What successes has it achieved and which component of the study is considered to be most closely associated with this success? What challenges has the study faced and what actions did the investigators take in response?); and

• summative evaluation (to what extent has the study met its intended outcomes?).

Together, these three evaluation practices produce findings that help study investigators know if their interventions are being conducted as originally described in study protocols, whether modifications may be needed, what components may be resulting in the strongest impact, which outcomes are being achieved (or not) and how, among other nuanced findings that could have important implications on scientific findings.

In addition to measuring fidelity and impact, evaluators are skilled in helping researchers understand dissemination opportunities and practices. Funders of studies often require scientists to focus on, and share, outcomes that inform the scientific field and the broader community potentially affected by the research question(s). Evaluators are uniquely positioned, through their technical training, to assist researchers in identifying stakeholders for dissemination of results. Evaluators also are skilled in creating actionable knowledge that is applicable and appropriate for eliciting the strongest impact upon dissemination.

Shaffer Evaluation Group (SEG) supports a variety of research grants, including from the USDA and National Science Foundation, by providing evaluation services in support of scientific inquiry. Feel free to call on us if you have similar needs.