Survey Says…

Statistical studies based on the random sampling of a population have wide degrees of usefulness, often dependent on the population in question. When human behavior (such as consumer tendencies, voting paterns, and social perception) is evaluated in an academic setting, this is often accomplished by soliciting participants to form the random sample. Solicitation may be random (within the constraints of the experiments), providing an adequate sample from which something meaningful can be inferred.

Although there are statistical techniques that attempt to correct for various biases in the sample, I wonder if there is any tendency among people who tend not to respond to such inquiries. That is, I would like to see a study that evaluates similarities between people who routinely reject invitations to participate in studies. I realize that undertaking such a study might be self-defeating (since you would get no voluntary participants), but the results of such a study could prove invaluable in defining the applicability of a random sample in many cases.