What is Mail survey?
A mail survey is a questionnaire sent and returned through postal mail (paper) to collect information from a target population. It’s often used to reach people who have limited internet access or prefer paper forms.
A mail survey (also called a postal survey or paper survey) is a data-collection method where an organisation prints questionnaires, mails them to respondents, and receives completed forms back by post. Questions can be closed‑ended (tick boxes) or open‑ended (free text). Variations include fully paper-based workflows and hybrid approaches that mail a postcard or letter with a URL or QR code linking to an online survey. Compared with online surveys, mail surveys tend to have slower turnaround, higher per-respondent cost, and different response biases, but can improve coverage among digitally excluded or older populations.
Usage example
A local council posts a short housing needs questionnaire to all households. Each envelope contains a paper form, a pre-paid return envelope, and an option: complete the paper form or scan the QR code to finish it online in your preferred language.
Practical application
Mail surveys matter when you need to reach people who won’t see or won’t respond to an online form — for example older residents, households without reliable internet, or communities that respond better to physical mail. They can improve representativeness and inclusion, but require time and budget for printing, postage and data entry. In practice, many organisations use a hybrid approach: send paper mail to drive response and offer a multilingual online version (via QR code or link) so participants can answer in the language they prefer and administrators can view translated responses and reduce manual transcription and translation work.
FAQ
How long do mail surveys usually take to complete?
Turnaround is typically measured in weeks rather than days: allow time for postage delivery, respondent completion, and return mailing. Expect the full cycle to take several weeks to a few months depending on reminder strategy and return rates.
Are mail surveys more expensive than online surveys?
Yes — printing, postage, return envelopes and data entry add per-respondent costs. However, those costs may be necessary to reach groups who won’t respond online and can make results more representative.
Can mail surveys support multiple languages?
Yes. Common approaches are to print bilingual or multilingual forms, send separate language versions, or include a QR code/link to an online multilingual survey. The hybrid option lets respondents use their preferred language online while keeping a paper option available.
How do organisations handle open-text answers in a language the team doesn’t read?
Paper responses must be transcribed (manually or via scanning/OCR) and then translated. A hybrid workflow that directs people to an online multilingual survey lets responses be returned in any language and viewed by administrators translated back into their language, reducing manual translation work.