How does nonresponse impact a research study? Will the findings from a randomly selected sample be generalizable to the population from which it was selected if there is a large nonresponse rate? Why or why not?
What will be an ideal response?
A very inclusive sampling frame may still yield systematic bias if many sample members cannot be contacted or refuse to participate. Nonresponse is a major hazard in survey research because individuals who do not respond to a survey are likely to differ systematically from those who take the time to participate. You should not assume that findings from a randomly selected sample will be generalizable to the population from which the sample was selected if the rate of nonresponse is considerable (certainly if it is much above 30%).
Even though a random sample has no systematic bias, it certainly will have some sampling error due to chance. The probability of selecting a head is.5 in a single toss of a coin, and in 20, 30, or however many tosses of a coin you like. Be aware, however, that it is perfectly possible to toss a coin twice and get a head both times. The random sample of the two sides of the coin is selected in an unbiased fashion, but it still is unrepresentative. Imagine randomly selecting a sample of 10 people from a population comprising 50 men and 50 women. Just by chance, it is possible that your sample of 10 people will include seven women and only three men. Fortunately, we can determine mathematically the likely degree of sampling error in an estimate based on a random sample (as you will see later in this chapter), assuming that the sample’s randomness has not been destroyed by a high rate of nonresponse or by poor control over the selection process.
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a. True b. False
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