Questionnaire Design 
A copy of the questionnaire used for the first 3 days of the season 
and an accompanying letter appear in appendices A and B. 
Some of the questions may appear redundant in that they ask if hunting 
occurred, and then how many hunters; if geese were killed; and then how many. 
There are reasons for this arrangement. Experience with other questionnaires 
indicates that some people who are not able to answer questions exactly will 
either pass on without making any answer, or will simply not return the 
questionnaire. This procedure of asking the simple question that can be 
answered by "yes" or "no" first provides a “memory jog." It serves to get 
the potential respondent thinking about it and prepares him for the question 
on “how many." If he still cannot answer "how many," it will at least be 
known that hunting occurred on his farm. He will be more apt to return the 
questionnaire if he can answer at least parts of it with ease and accuracy. 
This information makes possible a small correction for the number of farmers 
that were aware of goose hunting and goose kill on their land, but could not 
provide an estimate of the number of hunters or the kill. 
Distribution 
Once the season opening date is known and the length of the periods is 
decided, questionnaires can be prepared for mailing. Three questionnaires 
were sent. The first covered the period from October 7 through 9; the second, 
October 10 through 14; and the third covered October 15 and 16. Cooperators 
were provided a postpaid return envelope with each questionnaire. This is 
slightly more expensive than using a post card, but it is worth the difference 
as it gives the questionnaire a little more prestige and also keeps the 
reply confidential. 
Handling of Returns 
As questionnaires were received, they were recorded in the master file 
for each questionnaire period. As soon as it appeared that the return was 
practically complete, the respondents' cards were removed. A sample of 
approximately 100 of the remaining nonrespondents was drawn from each period. 
These farms were located with the aid of plat books and in some cases through 
the local post office. Lists were prepared giving the township and section 
of each, and as many as possible were interviewed to provide a correction 
for nonresponse. 
Stratification 
The purpose of stratification is to divide a heterogenous population 
into subpopulations, each of which is less variable than the entire popula- 
tion. For this first effort, our stratification was done as simply as 
possible--on a township or town-line basis. The kill was estimated separ- 
ately for each stratum and added to get the total. 
Costs and Time 
Postage for the total of 2,477 questionnaires and return envelopes sent 
out was $171.24. Cost of material and preparation of lists amounted to $135. 
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