Cover Image
QR Code

SAMPLING ERRORS INVOLVED IN INCOMPLETE RETURNS TO MAIL QUESTIONNAIRES.

The article presents a study concerning the sampling errors involved in the incomplete returns of mail questionnaires in the U.S. The author focuses on a survey about the employment status of the 327 technology and chemistry majors who graduated from the College of the City of New York in 1936. Ques...

Full description

Published in:Journal of Applied Psychology Vol. 25; no. 5; pp. 588 - 592
Main Author: Shuttleworth, Frank K.
Format: Article
Published: American Psychological Association Oct41
Subjects:
Errors
Statistical sampling
Mail surveys
Questionnaires
Respondents
Response rates
Public opinion polls
Social science research
United States
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Summary:The article presents a study concerning the sampling errors involved in the incomplete returns of mail questionnaires in the U.S. The author focuses on a survey about the employment status of the 327 technology and chemistry majors who graduated from the College of the City of New York in 1936. Questionnaires, each attached by a stamped return envelope, were distributed by mail to these alumni in June 1939. It was found out that more successful alumni had responded giving a falsified picture of the situation. Given this experience, it is stated that the early incomplete returns of the questionnaires implied a serious sampling errors.