Lost and Found, Letters and Methods: Assessing Attitudes toward Chiropractic and Medical Care

Kern, Hannah; Yeaton, William H.

doi:10.2458/azu_jmmss.v1i1.78

Cited by 1 publication

(3 citation statements)

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“…The same holds true with gender (in fact, using a gender-neutral name for the control may be a good idea). One version of the lost-letters technique, however, found no difference between the gender of the return addressee and return rate (Kern and Yeaton 2010). It seems likely this would hold true for the intended recipient of the letter as well.…”

Section: Teaching With Lost Lettersmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The original experiment by Milgram et al (1965) did not include a return address on the envelopes, and I think it is prudent to do the same. Moreover, the gender of the return addressee was found to have no impact on the return rates (Kern and Yeaton 2010). It may be a good idea, though, to have a generic, preprinted statement of “Thank You for Your Donation” or “Business Mail” in the space of the return address.…”

Section: Variationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several more recent implementations of the lost-letter technique have found no difference in the return rate among organizations dedicated to heart diseases, diabetes, or suicide (Witte, Smith, and Joiner 2010); no difference in the return rate among chiropractic care versus established medical care (Kern and Yeaton 2010); and no difference if using altercasting (e.g., “A good person would . .…”

Section: Variationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Lost Letters: Using the Lost-letter Technique to Teach Social Research Methods

Reid

2018

Teach Sociol

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Over 50 years ago, Stanley Milgram and colleagues published a short article detailing an unobtrusive experimental design they called the lost-letter technique. The technique involves placing stamped, unmailed letters in a community and using the relative rate of return to infer local attitudes toward political issues and social groups. Furthermore, the technique is simple and inexpensive enough to replicate in an introductory-level social science course as a means to familiarize students with social research methodology. This activity utilizes active learning with student-centered pedagogy, and this paper details the procedure, best practices, and student feedback. Students enjoy having a personal stake in the project and find they better understand social research through this active learning project. Instructors are encouraged to consider adopting the technique in their courses.

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Section: Teaching With Lost Lettersmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Variationsmentioning

confidence: 99%