The phrase "an option to reply" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing the possibility or choice of responding to a message or inquiry.
Example: "In the email, there was an option to reply directly to the sender with any questions."
Alternatives: "a choice to respond" or "a possibility to reply".
The effect on response rates when participants received an option to reply via the internet was summarized in a recent meta-analysis [ 7].
The combination of both methods was more cost-effective: Distributing single-sided questionnaire with an option to reply via the internet cost £25.20 per extra response.
When compared to the reference group that received no intervention (response rate = 35.5%), the response rate changed only marginally when single-sided questionnaires were distributed (35.8%) or when an option to reply via the internet was provided (34.3%).
An updated meta-analysis confirmed that based on the current evidence of five studies, an option to reply via the internet does not improve response rates to a population study (OR = 0.95; 0.83, 1.10).
Taken as a whole, neither an option to reply via the internet nor the use of single-sided questionnaires were effective methods to significantly increase the response rates to a population-based sample.
Using an electronic randomization program, persons in the study sample were randomly allocated to either receive (1) a single-sided or double-sided questionnaire and (2) an option or no option to reply via the internet.
For follow-up, participants were mailed a paper copy of the questionnaire with a self addressed and stamped envelope and also provided with a web link and given the option to reply online.
Evidence from this study suggests that neither single-sided questionnaires nor the option to reply via the internet resulted in a significant increase in response rates to population-based studies.
There's no separate option to reply only to the publisher of the tweet, though, which might irk some users.
And while there is the option to reply to emails by chat if that person is online, there's no real integration between the email message and the IM message, they exist as two totally separate things.
