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Assessment of Messaging in the 2018 American Community Survey Mail Contact Materials

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Research suggests that messaging contained in the mail contact materials (such as letters and brochures) can motivate potential respondents to participate and therefore improve self-response rates. An ongoing goal of the ACS program is to increase self-response rates.

In this paper, we leverage best practices from cross-disciplinary research on effective communication to evaluate English-language messaging in the 2018 ACS mail materials. To evaluate the messaging, we independently coded the messages (including all text, logos, and graphics), using codes pertaining to four categories of messaging: trust, benefits, burden reduction, and other. The coded messages were then examined to determine what messages are being conveyed and the quality of these messages. 

The results of this evaluation describe how some of the ACS messaging aligns with best practices and highlights ways the messaging in the ACS mail materials can be improved.

Page Last Revised - October 8, 2021
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