Disk by Mail

Disk by mail is a survey administration technique in which a selected respondent is mailed a computer disk that contains a questionnaire and a self-starting interview program. The respondent runs the program on [Page 204]his or her own computer and returns the disk containing the completed questionnaire. In some instances, the disk may provide an option for the person to transmit his or her responses over the Internet. Although disk-by-mail surveys can be conducted with the general public, the approach is most effective for targeted populations such as professional or business groups for whom computer access is nearly universal.

Disk by mail is one of a variety of computer-assisted self-interview (CASI) techniques. As such it has some of the advantages of a computerized survey. These surveys ...