Sampling the Reluctant Participant: A Random‐Sample Response‐Rate Study of Men and Sexual Coercion1

Past research has documented the difficulty associated with mail surveys in general, and with the rates of male participation, especially if the topic involves sensitive materials. Our study varied incentive value and whether participants received a letter of introduction. We adopted most of the stringent survey‐design characteristics recommended by Dillman (1991). The results suggest that a letter of introduction significantly increased the response rate. Additionally, a smaller monetary incentive did as well as did a larger one. Despite a maximum participation rate of only 22%, the sample was successful in representing men across the age span. Some important differences from men in the general population were found on demographic and attitudinal variables, however, the generalizability was still improved well beyond the college male.