CHAPTER III 



DATA SOURCES 



Questionnaire Administration 



The questionnaire was administered by the Montana Department of 

 Fish Wildlife and Parks after the 1988 general hunting season. 

 The population targeted by the questionnaire was those people who 

 had purchased a 1988 deer hunting tag or big-game combination 

 license. An adaptation of Dillman's (1978) Total Design Method 

 was used in conducting the mail survey. Hunters first received 

 the questionnaire booklet (see Appendix A) and cover letter along 

 with a stamped, addressed return envelope. One week later a 

 postcard reminder was sent to those hunters not yet responding. 

 Finally, a second copy of the questionnaire was sent to 

 nonrespondents . 



Response Rates 



An initial sample of 5000 questionnaires was mailed to hunters. 

 Residents received 4325 (86.5%) of the surveys and nonresidents 

 675 (13.5%). This division closely mirrors the actual 

 percentages of resident and nonresident hunters. 



Of the 5000 questionnaires mailed, 44 were undeliverable and 3328 

 were completed and returned. This response rate of 66.5% is 

 comparable to other Montana hunting surveys (Loomis, Cooper and 

 Allen, 1988; Brooks, 1988) and is quite acceptable for mail 

 questionnaires. Of the 3328 completed questionnaires, 79 either 

 did not hunt in 1988 or were returned too late to be included in 

 the sample. 



There was no nonresponse check conducted in this study. It is 

 not possible, therefore, to know if the 33.5% who did not respond 

 differed significantly from the 66.5% who did. 



The final sample proportions were 18.8% nonresident and 81.2% 

 resident. Since a larger percentage of nonresidents than 

 residents returned questionnaires the nonresident population is 

 slightly overrepresented in the sample. Rather than employ a 

 weighting scheme to increase the resident percentage in the 

 sample all important results are presented for each residency 

 group. 



