Out of both readings, I was most drawn to Bernard’s section on response rate. Bernard advocates for Dillman’s method when mailing a research survey in the United States. I found the steps in his method fascinating, as details down to the color of paper were discussed – apparently light green paper is more likely to trigger a response than white paper. I had not thought about the implications of what you put on a survey cover, but it makes sense that graphic designs are more likely to produce the intended effect than a picture because of the amount of information and possible distractions in such an image. I was also sure to take notes about question order, as I did not realize how seemingly innocuous questions like age and occupation could deter someone from starting a survey; to prevent this, demographic questions should be at the end, simple questions should be at the beginning, and “threatening questions” should be in the middle, toward the end, and dispersed from each other. Commentary on if and how much money should be offered to participants also fascinated me. I would assume that more money would mean greater response rates, but Dillman reported that offering $1 was most effective (in the 1980’s) because anything more than that made potential participants feel like it was an economic interaction which deterred them from participating.