Non-response error
Also called: Non-response · Topic: Economic Data: Census, NSS, Surveys and Statistical Tools · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 2 "Collection of Data"; Class 11, Ch 8 "Use of Statistical Tools"
Meaning
Non-response error happens when people chosen for the sample cannot be contacted or refuse to answer. The people who do answer may then differ from those who do not. As a result, the sample is no longer representative. It is a non-sampling error, so a bigger sample does not cure it.
Example
In India, rich households often refuse NSS surveys or under-report their spending. So survey consumption falls short of Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE), the consumption figure in the national accounts. This widens the NSS-NAS gap between survey data and national accounts data.
Don't confuse with
- Sampling bias: here some people can never enter the sample because of how the survey is designed. In non-response error, people are selected but do not reply.