A research team based in Texas Tech's Department of Agricultural Education & Communications has received the 2022 Outstanding Journal Article Award from the Journal of Agricultural Education, one of the field's premier publications. The honor was presented Thursday (May 18) at the National American Association of Agricultural Educators (AAAE) Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The article, titled “Determining the Effects of Response Mode and Incentives on Survey Response Rates of School-based Agricultural Education Teachers: An Experimental Study,” was based on a dissertation by Will Doss when he was a doctoral student in the department. Doss graduated in the spring of 2021, and currently serves as an assistant professor of agricultural education within the Department of Agricultural Education, Communications & Technology at the University of Arkansas.

John Rayfield, a professor of agricultural education, served as Doss' chair and major advisor and lead faculty co-author. Professor David Lawver and AEC Department Chair Scott Burris both served on Doss' committee and were contributing authors on the article. 

The study centered on determining the effects of survey response mode and incentives on response rates when surveying school-based agricultural education teachers. Findings revealed a significant increase in response rates for groups receiving an incentive. Recommendations for practice included using mixed response modes when financially feasible and oversampling to achieve the desired sample size to represent a population.

CONTACT: Scott Burris, Chair, Department of Agricultural Education & Communications, Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, Texas Tech University at (806) 834-8689 or scott.burris@ttu.edu

0530NM23 / PHOTO: (L to R) Will Doss, John Rayfield, David Lawver & Scott Burris