Methodology

For this year’s list of Top Doctors, New Jersey Monthly commissioned an independent survey of the state’s physicians by the Polling Institute at Monmouth University in West Long Branch. A total of 20,254 New Jersey-based doctors were invited to give their recommendations for this year’s list.

Here’s how the survey was conducted. On March 31, a one-page questionnaire was mailed to all New Jersey-based physicians who have been licensed by the state for at least five years. The mailing list, which is used by the state Board of Medical Examiners for licensing purposes, was obtained from the New Jersey Department of Consumer Affairs.

Respondents could either return the original paper questionnaire or complete the questionnaire online. Web survey participants were required to enter their name and license number to avoid duplication.

Overall, 1,879 mail responses and 1,878 web entries were received. A check for non-duplication prevented ballot stuffing. A total of 300 mail surveys were determined to be photocopies and were disqualified. Of the online surveys, 548 were either duplicate entries or from ineligible participants. These were disqualified.

In the end, a total of 2,909 non-duplicated responses were validated for use in the survey (1,579 mail and 1,330 online) for a response rate of 14%. This represents an increase of 3 percentage points over the prior two Top Doctors surveys conducted for New Jersey Monthly. The increase is due entirely to a nearly 75% rise in online survey entries.

The final list represents Top Doctors in 57 medical categories, including many pediatric and surgical subspecialties. In most categories, a minimum of 14 votes was required to be listed, up from last year’s 10-vote minimum because of the increase in eligible ballots received. The threshold was lower in some subspecialties with fewer practitioners.

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