Problem: Surveys examine individuals' beliefs, attitudes, and opinions and often require probability sampling to ensure that the results represent the entire target population (Goodwin and Goodwin, 2017). Probability samples allow every member of the target population to be chosen as part of the representative sample and failing to implement probability sampling may lead to biases (Goodwin and Goodwin, 2017). Any estimates disseminated from survey research using samples acquire the risk of sampling error, which refers to differences between the results of the entire target population and the results derived in the sample (Statistics Canada, 2021).
Survey research may also require demographic data, which allows the researcher to classify results using demographic categories (Goodwin and Goodwin, 2017). Due to interpretation, wording may be a problem in survey research; therefore, Goodwin and Goodwin (2017) suggest avoiding jargon, slang, abbreviations, and connotations and using relatively simple and complete sentences. Further, Mayer (2021) discusses the diminishing response rates of surveys as individuals perceive the surveys themselves are biased and found that these perceived biases correlate with political ideologies in the United States. What other survey issues may lead the respondents to perceive biases in the survey?
Goodwin, K. A., & Goodwin, C. J. (2017). Research in psychology: methods and design (8th ed.). Wiley.
Mayer, A. (2021). Reducing respondents' perceptions of bias in survey research. Methodological Innovations, 14(3), 1-7.
Government of Canada. (2021, September 2). Sampling error. Statistics Canada.