Advance and Invitation Letters in Social Science Surveys

In social science surveys, fieldwork is usually initiated by mailing advance or invitation letters to the target persons. The objective of the advance letter is to convey the survey request and provide key information about the survey. In order to gain the target person’s co-operation, the advance letter should clarify the purpose of the survey, stress its importance and communicate its seriousness. The aim of this Survey Guideline is to give some recommendations for advance letters, including both formal and content issues. Moreover, this Guideline deals with other features that may affect how target persons perceive the advance letter. This includes, for instance, certain delivery specifications.