Does survey branding matter for human dimensions of natural resources research? A case study of university- and government-branded surveys

Governmental natural resource entities often use surveys to gather information from the public about wildlife management and conservation policies. Response rate is a metric for understanding how many individuals participate in a survey. Higher response rates can reduce costs and sampling effort and improve the reliability and generalizability of survey findings. However, response rates may be negatively influenced by a distrust in government. Our study evaluated if response rates would differ based on the survey sponsor. We sent a survey to hunters in Georgia, USA that contained either university or governmental agency branding. Response rates did not differ among the two surveys and sentiment analysis of open-ended responses revealed that sentiments of respondents were similar between groups. Although these results suggest branding might not have major impacts on responses, further investigation is needed to determine the effect of sponsorship and other influential factors that both enhance and diminish response rates.