RESEARCH METHODS THINKING CRITICALLY WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE
THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD AND DESCRIPTION
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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It is not ethical
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The sample will be too large to be accurate
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The sample is probably not a representative sample
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There is no placebo
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Detailed explanation-1: -If the sample is not representative of the larger population, then the survey results are potentially biased. Failure to initially specify the population, problems in selecting a sample, and poor response rate can all lead to sampling error and bias.
Detailed explanation-2: -Not everyone who receives a survey is likely to answer it, no matter how many times they are reminded or what incentives are offered. If those who choose to respond are different in some important way from those who do not, the results may not reflect the opinions or behaviors of the entire population under study.
Detailed explanation-3: -Systematic non-sampling errors are worse than random non-sampling errors because systematic errors may result in the study, survey or census having to be scrapped. The higher the number of errors, the less reliable the information. When non-sampling errors occur, the rate of bias in a study or survey goes up.
Detailed explanation-4: -The “total survey error” paradigm (Groves et al. 2009) identifies multiple sources of error in surveys: measurement error, processing error, coverage error, sampling error, nonresponse error, and adjustment error. Administrative data may also have some of these errors.