Term
| Bias or non-sampling error or systematic error |
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Definition
| a major type of error associated with all surveys; it equals the difference between the value of a variable obtained by taking a census (or by averaging the results of all possible random samples of a give size) and the (unknown) true value |
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Term
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Definition
| a complete survey in which observations about one or more characteristics of interest are made for every elementary unit that exists |
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Term
| chance error or random error or sampling error |
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Definition
| a major type of error associated with random sampling; it equals the difference between the value of a variable obtained by taking a single random sample and the value obtained by taking a census (or by averaging the results of all possible random samples of like size) |
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Term
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Definition
| a subset of a frame, or of an associated population, chosen by taking separate censuses in a randomly chosen subset of geographically distinct clusters into which the frame or population is naturally divided |
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Term
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Definition
| a subset of all elementary units, or of an associated statistical population, that is selected on the basis of the data collector's "expert" judgment, presumably based on prior experience, which is believed to make the sample representative of the whole |
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Term
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Definition
| questions that lead the respondent, inexorably, to particular, predictable answers |
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Term
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Definition
| a procedure that involves the successive sampling of ever-smaller groups and possibly even the use of different sampling methods at each stage |
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Term
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Definition
| a subset of all existing units that is selected haphazardly from a statistical frame (or from an associated statistical population) without the use of some randomizing device that assures each unit is known and positive probability of selection |
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Term
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Definition
| a systematic tendency for selected elementary units with particular characteristics not to contribute data in a survey, while other such units, with other characteristics, do |
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Term
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Definition
| questions that elicit answer in people's own words |
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Term
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Definition
| "wild values' or maverick responses that are not believable because they differ greatly from the majority of observed values |
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Term
| probability sample or random sample |
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Definition
| a subset of all existing units that is selected from a statistical frame (or from an associated statistical population) with the help of some randomizing device that assures each unit a known and positive (but not necessarily equal) probability of selection |
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Term
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Definition
| a printed listing of numbers generated by a random process in such a way that each possible digit is equally likely to precede or follow any other digit |
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Term
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Definition
| a tendency for answers to survey questions to be wrong in some systematic way |
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Term
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Definition
| a partial survey in which observations about one or more characteristics of interest are made for only a subset of all existing elementary units |
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Term
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Definition
| a systematic tendency in a survey to favor the inclusion of selected elementary units with particular characteristics, while excluding other such units with other characteristics |
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Term
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Definition
| a subset of a frame, or of an associated population, chosen in such a fashion that every possible subset of like size has an equal chance of being selected. This procedure implies that each individual unit of the frame or population has an equal chance of selection as well |
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Term
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Definition
| a subset of a frame, or an associated population, chosen by taking separate (simple or systematic) random samples from every stratum in the frame or population, often in such a way that the sizes of the separate samples vary with the importance of the different strata |
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Term
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Definition
| a subset of a frame, or of an associated population, chosen by randomly selecting one of the first k elements and then including every kth element thereafter until the desired sample size has been reached |
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Term
| voluntary response sample |
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Definition
| a group of people who, in response to some general appeal, have selected themselves to participate in a survey |
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