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The ATR charges researchers for the cost of mailing out and follow up of potential participants. Mailout costs are based on a cost recovery basis and are calculated as a rolled up rate for postage, materials and labour.
Please click HERE For a copy of the latest ATR Charging Policy. This document also provides example quotes based on a range of standard study formats. Please note, if you are writing grant applications the ATR suggest you allow for a 5%-10% increase per year in charges to ensure you adequately cover costs.
Set Up and Administration Fees
A one-off set up fee of $165 - $275 is charged, the amount depending on the logistics and complexity of the study. This covers set up of the study on the ATR database and general administration required to begin recruitment.
Mail Out Costs
Administration fees are charged as 3 hours per 100 approaches at $38.50 per hour. This charge covers labour required to select potential participants, create database mailout files, print, photocopy, collate, fold and insert approach documentation and sort ready for bulk mailing. Mailout materials and postage are charged on a cost recovery basis. Approach packages are tailored to meet the specific requirements of the researcher. Postage charges are currently $0.60 (as at July 2010) per standard DL envelope sent. Postage may vary depending on weight and size requirements.
Reply Paid
Researchers are charged the cost of Reply Paid postage per mail response returned. This charge averages $25 - $75 per 100 letters sent depending on the response rate. Reply Paid charges are currently $0.65 (as at July 2010) per standard DL envelope received. Reply Paid charges may vary depending on weight and size requirements.
Response Processing
This task includes opening and sorting mail related to the study, logging the ATR member’s response, entering any special requirements defined by the member (i.e. specific times to contact, interest in participation in specific phases of the study) and filing ready for end of week reporting. This is charged at the administration rate of $38.50 per hour. Time taken to complete this activity per study is logged for invoicing purposes.
Follow Up Letters
Follow up letters are charged as above, and costs for this largely depend on the initial total response rate and the researchers own timeframes and requirements.
Follow Up Phone Calls
This service is optional for researchers and use depends on the researchers own timeframes and requirements.
Phone follow up costs are calculated at $53.35 per hour as a rolled up rate for labour, line and call costs. The number of hours required will depend on how soon researchers wish phone follow up to occur (before or after a follow up letter etc) and whether the study is eligible for verbal consent to be taken (this can require more time to ensure that the participant understands the study and has the opportunity to ask questions, but tends to increase response rates and therefore reduce overall mailout costs). Time taken to complete this activity per study is logged for invoicing purposes.
Phone Follow Up costs will also largely depend on the total initial response rate, which greatly varies between studies and is affected by a range of factors such as; general interest in the study, the amount of effort required to participate (i.e. travel to a medical facility and/or providing blood samples), any incentives offered and the relative level of comfort with the topic being investigated (i.e. wide differences are seen between studies using short/relatively benign tests versus in depth and/or potentially confronting tests).
Reporting
This activity covers end of week quality checks, generation of response rate reports and uploading participant files to researchers. This task usually takes half an hour to an hour per week per study depending on the complexity and scale of the study and is charged at the administration rate of $38.50 per hour. Time taken to complete this activity per study is logged for invoicing purposes.
Costs for tracing and re-mailing of any Return To Sender letters are borne by the ATR.
Method
Researchers are invoiced and provided with a detailed report indicating all charges. Time taken in Response Processing and Telephone Follow Up activities per study per day are logged in the ATR database for invoicing purposes. Invoicing periods usually span 6 months and are undertaken in May and November to coincide with end of financial and calendar years. Research teams are able to negotiate changes to invoice timing and frequency depending on their needs.
In general, the double-positive response rate for studies is approximately 30%, however this is dependent on the age of the twins in the families who are approached and what is being asked of them. It also depends on the follow-up method used (we can use a mixture of letter and phone follow up). Therefore, researchers need to consider the mailout number required in order to reach their study quota.
We generally undertake mailouts in smaller weekly to monthly batches (but this is negotiable depending on the researcher’s needs) and can monitor response rates to determine when we approach the quota for your study, or your available funding level, whichever comes first.
Fee Increases
If you are currently writing grant applications, the ATR suggest you allow for a 5%-10% increase per year in charges, to make sure you adequately cover your costs.
