At Wave 6, multiple versions of the advance letter were used to test whether letters targeted at particular sample subgroups and referenced issues of likely importance to them could positively affect participation rates.
Half the sample received a standard advance letter. The other half of the sample received a ‘targeted’ letter. The ‘targeted letter’ enlisted respondents by saying that Understanding Society “helps researchers and policy makers understand the changes in the needs of the country across diverse subjects…”
- For 16-29 year olds the letter referenced “…subjects like the impact of the economic climate on employment prospects and the influence of mobile technology on life”
- For the employment-busy (working 39+ hours, or working 30+ hours and commuting 60+ minutes one way) the letter referenced “…subjects like your work-life balance, your position on your employment and your retirement”
- For those who had dependent children under age 15 the letter referenced “…diverse subjects like the provision of child care, schooling and education”
- For those living in London the letter referenced “…subjects like the cost of living and the provision of schools, housing and public transportation”
- For those of pensionable age the letter referenced “…subjects like the provision of social care and the cost of energy and fuel”
Random allocation to treatment of standard versus tailored letter was of households within PSUs. The controlling variable is f_ff_advancew6 on record f_hhsamp_ip which takes the values:
1 ‘Standard’ advanced letter
2 “Tailored” advanced letter
The specific type of advance letter with respect to his experiment is indicated by the variable f_ff_letterw6 on record f_indsamp_ip which takes the values:
1 “Standard Letter”
2 “Employment busy”
3 “Children”
4 “Age 16-29”
5 “London or SE”
6 “Pensionable age”
