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Based on the standard characteristics of a mail survey, explain the colleague's methodological concern regarding how participants' behavior will affect the resulting data.
Case context: A university research team is planning a large-scale community study on health habits. Because their funding is severely limited, the lead researcher proposes using a mail survey, arguing that it is the least expensive administration mode. A colleague agrees about the cost savings but warns that relying on paper questionnaires sent through the postal system will severely limit the representativeness of their data.
Question: Based on the standard characteristics of a mail survey, explain the colleague's methodological concern regarding how participants' behavior will affect the resulting data.
Sample answer: The colleague's concern is based on the fact that mail surveys typically suffer from the lowest response rates. Because many participants will likely fail to return the paper questionnaires sent through the postal system, the resulting data becomes highly vulnerable to non-response bias.
Key points:
- Mail surveys rely on paper questionnaires sent through the postal system.
- This administration mode typically suffers from the lowest response rates.
- Low response rates make the resulting data highly vulnerable to non-response bias.
Rubric: A full credit answer must explain that mail surveys have the lowest response rates and identify that this low return rate makes the resulting data highly vulnerable to non-response bias.
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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