What is voluntary response bias?
Understand the Problem
The question is asking for an explanation of voluntary response bias, which is a type of sampling bias that occurs when individuals choose to respond to a survey or study based on their strong opinions or feelings about the subject. This can lead to skewed results because those who opt in may not represent the overall population.
Answer
It occurs when individuals self-select for surveys, leading to unrepresentative data.
Voluntary response bias occurs when individuals self-select themselves for surveys or studies, leading to data that is often not representative of the general population since it oversamples those with strong opinions.
Answer for screen readers
Voluntary response bias occurs when individuals self-select themselves for surveys or studies, leading to data that is often not representative of the general population since it oversamples those with strong opinions.
More Information
Voluntary response bias is significant because it can affect the validity and reliability of survey data. Since people with strong opinions are more likely to respond, the results may overemphasize certain viewpoints and underrepresent the general population's opinions.
Tips
A common mistake is not recognizing that voluntary response bias is present, which can lead to incorrect generalizations from survey data.
Sources
- Voluntary Response Bias in Sampling - InMoment - inmoment.com
- Voluntary Response Bias - Vocab, Definition, and Must Know Facts - library.fiveable.me
- Survey Bias - Stat Trek - stattrek.com
