What is a significant characteristic of nonresponse error?

A significant characteristic of nonresponse error is that it occurs when participants decline to answer. Nonresponse error arises in survey research and data collection when individuals selected for the sample choose not to respond or do not participate for various reasons. This can lead to a situation where the remaining responses do not adequately represent the larger population, potentially skewing results.

When participants do not respond, especially if their reasons for declining to answer are related to systematic traits (e.g., their demographics, opinions, etc.), this can introduce bias and limit the generalizability of findings. The pattern of who responds versus who does not can therefore be critical in ensuring that survey findings accurately reflect the population being studied.