Nonresponse Bias

Nonresponse occurs when all the sampling units selected for a sample in a survey are not interviewed. A sampling unit could be an individual, household, business, or other entity being interviewed. The term nonresponse bias refers to the potential bias that can occur in surveys due to nonresponse. Particularly since the start of the 21st century, surveys based on probability samples have been experiencing declining response rates, and therefore nonresponse bias has become a growing concern for surveys in all fields. Nonresponse bias can impact education surveys as well as educational measurement and research based on surveys. If survey participants are systematically different from nonparticipants on measures related to the study, then the accuracy of the estimates, analysis, and inferences from the survey results will ...