Deck 17: Collecting the Data: Nonsampling Errors and Response Rate Calculation

Question 1

Which of the following is essentially a sampling frame problem?

A)Refusals
B)No one at home
C)Observation errors
D)Noncoverage errors
E)Designated respondent not at home when interviewer calls

Answer 1

D

Question 2

A researcher investigating the consumption of sugar takes a random sample from the population and computes the mean sugar consumption.He repeats the procedure a number of times using the exact same procedure,and finds the means obtained vary from sample to sample.This is an example of

A)systematic error.
B)sampling error.
C)nonsampling error.
D)noncoverage error.
E)response error.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Increasing sample size ____ but may also ____.

A)decreases sampling error,increase nonsampling error
B)has no influence on sampling error,increase nonsampling error
C)increases nonsampling error,increase sampling error
D)increases sampling error,increase nonsampling error
E)decreases nonsampling error,decrease sampling error

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Sampling error is reflected in the

A)sampling distribution of the statistic.
B)contact rate.
C)eligibility requirement.
D)development of the sampling frame.
E)number of callbacks needed to complete the survey.

Question 5

Which of the following is FALSE?

A)Random nonsampling errors are more troublesome than nonrandom nonsampling errors.
B)Random nonsampling errors produce estimates that vary from the true value.
C)Random nonsampling errors tend to cancel each other out.
D)Nonrandom nonsampling errors bias the sample value away from the true value of the population parameter.
E)All of the above statements are true.

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT an example of a nonsampling error?

A)Using a telephone directory as a sampling frame.
B)Choosing a quota sample by strictly adhering to the response instructions.
C)Using a city map purchased in a gas station as the sampling frame.
D)Using state car title records as a sampling frame.
E)All of the above are examples of non-sampling errors.

Question 7

The best way to reduce nonsampling errors is to

A)increase sample size.
B)improve data collection techniques.
C)offer incentives to respondents.
D)substitute the next house on the block for not-at-homes.
E)Nonsampling errors cannot be reduced.

Question 8

Nonsampling errors

A)decrease with increases in sample size.
B)can be easily estimated.
C)distort the reliability of sample estimates.
D)can be decreased by the use of sophisticated samples.
E)are not very important.

Question 9

When sampling from lists,three problems are commonly encountered: both ineligibles and duplicates are included on the list,while some members of the target population are excluded.These are examples of

A)noncoverage errors.
B)response errors.
C)nonresponse errors.
D)office errors.
E)sampling errors.

Question 10

Which of the following is TRUE concerning sampling errors?

A)Sampling errors can be reduced by improving data collection methods.
B)The degree of sampling error can be estimated.
C)Sampling errors have been consistently shown to be the major contributor to total survey error.
D)Sampling errors are frequently the most important errors that arise in research.
E)It is difficult to estimate the size and effects of sampling errors.

Question 11

Nonsampling errors are

A)random.
B)non-random.
C)tend to bias sample statistics.
D)Both b and c.
E)a,b,and c.

Question 12

Which of the following is FALSE?

A)It is not difficult to estimate the size and effects of nonsampling errors.
B)Reduction of nonsampling error depends on improving method.
C)Nonsampling errors are not as manageable as sampling errors.
D)Nonsampling errors arise from weaknesses in research procedure.They are likely to increase with increases in the sample size.
E)Nonsampling errors contribute more than sampling errors to total error in most surveys.

Question 13

Which of the following is a nonobservation error?

A)A researcher deliberately excludes those under 21 years of age from the survey.
B)In an opinion poll,those incarcerated in a state penitentiary are intentionally excluded from the sample.
C)In an opinion survey,the sample is selected from a mailing list of car registrations.
D)A marketer conducting research for a dog food manufacturer purposely restricts the sample to dog owners.
E)None of the above.

Question 14

One difference between sampling and nonsampling errors is that as sample size increases,sampling errors will ____ while nonsampling errors ____.

A)decrease,may even increase
B)increase,decrease
C)remain the same,may even increase
D)increase,remain the same
E)decrease,remain the same

Question 15

The difference between the observed values of a variable and the long-run average of the observed values in repetitions of the measurement is (the)

A)nonresponse error.
B)nonsampling error.
C)sampling error.
D)noncoverage error.
E)office error.

Question 16

Which of the following is TRUE?

A)Noncoverage,nonsampling error is best treated by increasing the sample size that is selected.
B)Noncoverage,nonsampling error is essentially a sampling frame problem and if clear,complete,up-to-date sampling frames exist,noncoverage is not likely to be a problem.
C)While noncoverage can be a source of bias,overcoverage is not.In fact,overcoverage may improve estimates as it means that the sample size is larger than initially planned at no increase in cost.
D)Noncoverage bias is essentially eliminated with quota samples.
E)Noncoverage error can be statistically estimated.

Question 17

Nonsampling errors occur because of errors in

A)conceptionalization of the response project.
B)reporting the results of a project.
C)arithmetic.
D)interpreting respondent replies.
E)All of the above are nonsampling errors.

Question 18

Sampling errors can be decreased by

A)decreasing the number of observations.
B)increasing the sample size.
C)providing better training for interviewers.
D)improving the data collection method.
E)using a quota sample.

Question 19

Failure to include some units,or entire sections,of the defined survey population in the actual operational sampling frame represents

A)noncoverage error.
B)nonresponse error.
C)sampling error.
D)random error.
E)observation error.

Question 20

Nonsampling errors

A)are as identifiable as sampling errors.
B)decrease with sample size.
C)may increase with sample size.
D)are quite uncommon.
E)have minimal impact on overall survey error.

Question 21

The owner of Patty's Pizza Parlor wants to measure consumer awareness of the restaurant and uses the local telephone directory to draw a sample from which to survey the townspeople.However,some people do not have a telephone.This represents what type of problem?

A)Sampling error
B)Nonresponse error
C)Noncoverage error
D)Response error
E)Office error

Question 22

Noncoverage error is not a problem for which of the following sampling frames?

A)Phone book
B)Mailing list
C)Map
D)None of the above have a potential noncoverage problem.
E)All of the above potentially have a noncoverage problem.

Question 23

Nonresponse error represents

A)a measure of the difference between the size of the population and the size of the sample.
B)the number of sampling units not contacted on the first attempt.
C)a random distribution of unanswered questions.
D)a failure to obtain information from sampling units.
E)a uniform distribution of uncontacted respondents.

Question 24

Which of the following is effective in reducing the incidence and problem of not-at-homes?

A)Using a "straight" callback
B)Using a "modified" callback
C)Making advance appointments
D)Both b and c.
E)a,b,and c.

Question 25

Which of these contributes to the nonresponse bias in a telephone survey?

A)1,2
B)1,2,3
C)3,4
D)2,4
E)1,2,3,4

Question 26

Common problems of using lists as sampling frames include

A)the list is not up-to-date.
B)ineligibles are included in the list.
C)duplicates are included in the list.
D)some members of the desired population are not on the list.
E)All of the above are common problems of using lists.

Question 27

Duplication in the list of sampling units results in

A)sampling error.
B)data collection error.
C)systematic error.
D)response error.
E)overcoverage error.

Question 28

Which of the following is typically estimated by comparing the sample survey results with some outside criterion?

A)Coding errors
B)Sampling errors
C)Noncoverage errors
D)Nonresponse errors
E)Refusal errors

Question 29

Which of the following is FALSE?

A)The main sources of nonresponse bias are not-at-homes and refusals.
B)The type of incentive used to reduce nonresponse may create another potential bias.
C)Technological advancements have helped researchers overcome the not-at-home problem.
D)Using incentives to reduce the nonresponse rate may inflate response errors.
E)Not-at-homes and refusals are both sources of error in telephone surveys.

Question 30

When using a quota sample,interviewers typically underselect the

A)High income class.
B)Middle income class.
C)Low income class.
D)High and low income classes.
E)Interviewers do not underselect any class in a quota sample.

Question 31

The probability of finding someone home is greater for

A)high-income families.
B)low-income families.
C)rural families.
D)urban families.
E)Both b and c.

Question 32

Which of these sampling frames is most likely to produce the largest noncoverage bias problem?

A)Declared marketing majors in the School of Business
B)The metropolitan area telephone book
C)A department store's charge account customers
D)Heads of households in the graduate student apartment complex
E)Clients of an insurance office

Question 33

A random sample of 5,000 households are selected for interviews with the following results 1,010 completed interviews
864 refusals by the respondent
3,126 no answer/not at home
The response rate is

A)19%.
B)20%.
C)36%.
D)38%.
E)51%.

Question 34

Which of the following is FALSE?

A)Noncoverage is a problem in mail and e-mail surveys.
B)For some studies,clear,convenient and complete sampling frames exist.
C)Overcoverage error poses a relatively common problem with sampling frames.
D)None of the above are false.
E)All of the above are false.

Question 35

Common methods to reduce not-at-homes include all of the following,EXCEPT

A)make advance appoints with the respondent.
B)a callback at a different time than the initial call.
C)leaving a questionnaire if the respondent is not at home.
D)better interviewer training.
E)All of the above are common methods of reducing not-at-homes.

Question 36

Which of the following are most likely to be home when an interviewer calls during a weekday?

A)Married women without children
B)Single women
C)Married men
D)Married women with young children
E)Single men

Question 37

Which of the following is typically NOT effective in reducing the incidence and problem of not-at-homes?

A)Making advance appointments by telephone
B)Employing callbacks
C)Substitution of neighboring dwelling units
D)Interviewer judgment in scheduling calls
E)They are all typically effective

Question 38

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A)For most surveys,overcoverage is more common than noncoverage.
B)Noncoverage error is not a problem in every survey.
C)Noncoverage bias can be reduced by increasing the sample size.
D)Families with several phone listings have a lower probability of being included in the sample than do sampling units with one listing.
E)All of the above statements are false.

Question 39

Which of the following is FALSE?

A)Nonresponse error is a potential problem in any project for which data are not collected from all respondents selected for the sample.
B)Nonresponse error only occurs when those who respond are systematically different from those who do not respond in some important way.
C)Refusal bias applies to projects using all forms of data collection.
D)The degree of nonresponse error is easy to assess.
E)All of the above statements are true.

Question 40

Nonsampling error includes all of the following EXCEPT

A)noncoverage error.
B)office error.
C)response error.
D)quota error.
E)nonresponse error.

Question 41

Blame for response errors usually falls on the

A)Researcher.
B)Respondent.
C)Both a and b.
D)Response errors are no one's fault.
E)It does not matter whose fault it is since response errors do not cause significant problems.

Question 42

The refusal problem is the main source of nonresponse bias for a(n)

A)interview.
B)completely randomized experimental design.
C)mail survey.
D)field study.
E)panel.

Question 43

Effective strategy(ies)to increase initial response rates is(are)

A)ask respondent to complete a simple task at the beginning.
B)offer respondents money for cooperation.
C)use a good quota sampling plan.
D)Both a and b.
E)a,b,and c.

Question 44

Which of the following is TRUE?

A)The percentage of not-at-homes has been decreasing for a long time.
B)Answering machines help interviewers schedule callback times.
C)It is much easier to find a "responsible adult" at home than a specific respondent.
D)One to two calls are often needed to reach three-fourths of the sample of households.
E)To maintain consistency,callbacks should be made at the same time as the original call.

Question 45

During a recent telephone survey,the data collection effort produced the following results: completed interviews = 400;refusals = 200;not-at-home = 400 What is the response rate in this particular situation?

A)67%
B)44%
C)100%
D)40%
E)50%

Question 46

The not-at-home problem is handled LEAST effectively by

A)a "straight" callback.
B)a "modified" callback.
C)the politz and simmons' method in which the interviewed sample respondents are questioned regarding their availability and then the results of each group are appropriately weighted.
D)substituting a neighboring dwelling.
E)making an appointment in advance.

Question 47

The number provided by the calculation,"number of sample units contacted divided by the total number of sample units approached" is commonly called the

A)response rate.
B)contact rate.
C)completeness rate.
D)refusal rate.
E)nonresponse rate.

Question 48

Not-at-home nonresponse bias is most affected by

A)interviewer training.
B)the subject of the research.
C)sample size.
D)quota sampling.
E)using a more sophisticated sample design.

Question 49

An interviewer is assigned to visit 123 eligible households.After the first approach to each household,52 contacts have been made.At this stage,what is the interviewer's contact rate?

A)42.3%
B)48.1%
C)2.36 per hundred
D)52.0%
E)Cannot be determined from the information given.

Question 50

In a "modified" callback,the interviewer

A)interviews whoever is at home after the fourth callback fails to get the designated respondent.
B)only asks the five most important questions on the survey.
C)only attempts three callbacks.
D)only attempts callbacks on a subsample of the group of not-at-homes.
E)leaves a self-administered questionnaire for the designated respondent.

Question 51

Which of the following statements concerning response errors is FALSE?

A)Respondents who understand a question may not always provide a truthful answer to the question.
B)It is possible that a respondent may understand a question correctly but not actually know the answer to the question.
C)Providing a "don't know" response category will often create difficulties in data analysis.
D)Pre-testing the questionnaire with members of the relevant population is generally not effective at eliminating problems due to respondents misunderstanding questionnaire items.
E)All of the above statements are true.

Question 52

The contact rate can be used to

A)compare the performance of interviewers.
B)measure the interviewer's persistence in making a contact.
C)measure the wisdom the interviewer displays in scheduling a callback.
D)Both a and b.
E)a,b,and c.

Question 53

Observation errors include

A)response error and nonresponse error.
B)response error and office error.
C)nonresponse error and office error.
D)noncoverage error and response error.
E)nonresponse error and noncoverage error.

Question 54

An interviewer finds that a subject is not at home;to complete his sample,he substitutes the nearest available subject for the missing subject.This practice is

A)reasonable and provides accurate results.
B)not recommended as it complicates the problems by increasing the proportion of at-homes in the sample.
C)recommended even though it increases the proportion of at-homes.
D)unreasonable although the results are generally accurate.
E)probably the best available technique for handling the not-at-home problem.

Question 55

Refusals are a more important source of nonresponse bias than the not-at-home problem in

A)personal interviews.
B)mail surveys.
C)telephone surveys.
D)Both a and b.
E)Not-at-homes are always a more important source of error than refusals.

Question 56

Which of the following has NOT been shown to be effective in decreasing the number of refusals?

A)The use of incentives
B)Selling the respondent on the value of the research
C)Use of experienced interviewers
D)Guarantees of anonymity
E)They have all been shown to be effective.

Question 57

The rate of refusals depends on the

A)respondent attitude at the time of initial contact.
B)reason for the contact.
C)place where contact was initiated.
D)Both a and b.
E)a,b,and c.

Question 58

The respondent's cooperation will NOT be encouraged by

A)selling the respondent on the value of the research.
B)choosing an appropriate interviewer.
C)training the interviewer properly.
D)guaranteeing that the replies will be confidential.
E)asking sensitive questions.

Question 59

Sherry Smith is an interviewer for a marketing research company.During a recent telephone study she successfully contacted 400 of the 600 households that she had attempted to contact.Of those successfully contacted,300 households completed the survey.What is Sherry's contact rate?

A)75%
B)67%
C)50%
D)25%
E)17%

Question 60

The empirical evidence suggests which of the following does NOT affect the refusal rate?

A)Nature of the respondent
B)Sponsor of the research
C)Nature of the subject
D)Circumstances surrounding the contact
E)They all affect the refusal rate.

Question 61

Student researchers collected data on name awareness of a local store.The researchers found that three-fourths of the people who refused to respond were members of the Greek system.If the Greek students who refused to participate in the survey were truly different on some key dimension from those who actually responded to the survey,____ error could bias the research results.

A)observation
B)sampling
C)response
D)nonresponse
E)noncoverage

Question 62

Which method of data collection has traditionally produced the lowest response rates?

A)Personal interviews in homes
B)Telephone surveys
C)Mail surveys
D)Personal interviews in shopping malls
E)All of the above produce roughly equivalent response rates.

Question 63

To identify whether potential respondents meet eligibility requirements,an interviewer will typically use a(n)

A)eligibility percentage.
B)leading question.
C)loaded question.
D)screening question.
E)alternative questionnaire.

Question 64

The primary way to control for the potential bias due to interviewer's attitudes,opinions,perceptions,etc. ,is through

A)matching the backgrounds of the interviewer and interviewee.
B)training the interviewer.
C)recruiting interviewers with similar socioeconomic backgrounds.
D)conducting the survey using a rigid set of procedures which the interviewers must follow.
E)requiring the interviewer to complete the questionnaire so that it can be determined if there is a pattern between the interviewer's answers and the answers he or she secures when administering the questionnaire.

Question 65

Which of the following is TRUE?

A)It is generally true that bias caused by interviewer expectations will balance out if a sufficiently large number of interviews is used.
B)The behavior of either interviewer or respondent occurs merely as a physical reaction to the behavior of the other.
C)Questions which state the alternative answers and multiple choice questions are particularly recommended in studies where personal interviews are used because they are not subject to interviewer bias.
D)The empirical evidence suggests that an interviewer with strong positive attitudes toward a particular issue will tend to secure more favorable responses than an interviewer with strong negative attitudes.
E)All of the above statements are true.

Question 66

To avoid low response rates,it is recommended that researchers

A)conduct thorough exploratory research.
B)perform pre-testing of the questionnaire.
C)use a large sample size.
D)Both a and b.
E)Both b and c.

Question 67

Low response rates may indicate

A)lack of interest among respondents.
B)failure to gain the intended respondents' attention.
C)poor questionnaire design.
D)Both a and b.
E)a,b,and c.

Question 68

Inaccuracies in the information that is obtained represent which type of error?

A)Sampling error
B)Nonobservation error
C)Observation error
D)Noncoverage error
E)Nonresponse error

Question 69

Research evidence supports the contention that

A)gender of respondents and interviewers does NOT influence the answers in a survey.
B)black interviewers are likely to obtain more information on consumption expenditures in a predominantly white neighborhood.
C)it is better to have an old interviewer interview a young respondent and vice versa so as to keep the interview from wandering off the intended topic into areas of mutual interest.
D)the further the social distance between the interviewer and the respondent the greater the bias.
E)background factors of interviewer and interviewee do NOT generally influence the information obtained.

Question 70

Exhibit 17.1 Student researchers randomly selected 1000 telephone numbers from the local telephone directory and attempted to contact each household.Here are the final results of the calls:
Refer to Exhibit 17.1.What is eligibility percentage in this particular situation?

A)69%
B)31%
C)28%
D)41%
E)59%

Question 71

An accounting firm decided to conduct a survey among its past clients.A sample of 500 clients was randomly selected to receive a mail survey.A total of 175 clients responded to the survey;30 of the mailing addresses were not valid.The response rate on the project would be correctly calculated as

A)85%.
B)65%.
C)37%.
D)35%.
E)17%.

Question 72

The response rate functions to

A)assess the likely influence of nonresponse error on the study's results.
B)serve as an indicator of the overall quality of a data collection effort.
C)assess the degree of response error.
D)Both a and b.
E)a,b,and c.

Question 73

Exhibit 17.1 Student researchers randomly selected 1000 telephone numbers from the local telephone directory and attempted to contact each household.Here are the final results of the calls:
Refer to Exhibit 17.1.What is the response rate in this particular situation?

A)80%
B)73%
C)70%
D)62%
E)41%

Question 74

While collecting data by conducting personal interviews in homes,Jake interviews the most accessible individual within the household,rather than using random selection.This increases the potential of

A)sampling error.
B)response bias.
C)nonresponse error.
D)office error.
E)Both a and b.

Question 75

Which of the following does NOT lead to response bias?

A)Errors in asking questions
B)Errors in recording answers
C)Errors in probing when additional information is required
D)Errors due to cheating
E)A poorly specified sampling frame

Question 76

Which of the following is FALSE?

A)New sources of nonsampling error are being discovered all the time.
B)A large sample is much more likely to produce a "valid" result than a small sample is.
C)Total error,rather than any single type of error,is the key in a research investigation.
D)Sampling error can be estimated.
E)Nonsampling error is usually more troublesome than sampling error.

Question 77

Observation errors occur because

A)inaccurate information is obtained from the sample elements.
B)errors are introduced in the processing of the data.
C)errors are introduced in reporting the findings.
D)some elements of the sample do not respond.
E)a,b,and c.

Question 78

The response rate formula for a telephone survey where there is no eligibility requirement excludes

A)refusals.
B)wrong numbers.
C)not-at-homes.
D)completed interviews.
E)All of the above are included in the response rate formula for a telephone survey where there is no eligibility requirement.

Question 79

Nonobservation errors include

A)response error and nonresponse error.
B)response error and office error.
C)nonresponse error and office error.
D)noncoverage error and response error.
E)nonresponse error and noncoverage error.

Question 80

The ____ is used to adjust the number of refusals and not-at-homes to reflect the fact that many of them would not have qualified to participate in the survey even had we successfully contacted them and gotten them to agree to participate.

A)eligibility percentage
B)screening question
C)contact rate
D)response rate
E)None of the above.