Thus, the best conclusion that can be drawn is that it is not the length of the questionnaire that affects the rate of response but the salience of the questionnaire. In other words, if the topic of the questionnaire is important to the responding party, it is more likely that they will take the time to respond to it - regardless of length. (Adams & Darwin: 2005) To me, these findings make sense. It seems natural that the controlling factor in determining the rate of response to a questionnaire would be the subject matter more than the length. If the subject is important to the responder, then they will naturally be more likely to respond. However, I do not think that this correspondingly means that questionnaire length is not a factor in determining rate of response....

In fact, I believe this study shows it is a factor, although secondary in comparison to the effect of salience. For instance, even if a questionnaire topic is important to a responder, if the questionnaire is burdensomely long, it is less likely the intended responder will respond. Thus, the key to having a high response rate to a questionnaire is to have a topic important to the targeted party and to use a questionnaire that is both convenient and non-burdensome.
Bibliography

Bean, Andrew, Roszkowski, Michael J. (1995, Winter): "The Long and Short of it." Marketing Research. 1, 20-26.

Adams, La Mar, Darwin, Gale. (2005): "Solving the Quandary Between Questionnaire Length and Response Rate in Educational Research." Research in…