if I had a correct general answer, I would have won a Nobel already. at the very least, you should constantly remind yourself that all your conclusions are only applicable to people who responded to the survey. you might try to figure out who responded and how they are different from the actual target population. if you know your target population in advance, you could sample it yourself and then add a "refused to participate" response to those who refused.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2011-07-07 02:13 pm (UTC)at the very least, you should constantly remind yourself that all your conclusions are only applicable to people who responded to the survey.
you might try to figure out who responded and how they are different from the actual target population.
if you know your target population in advance, you could sample it yourself and then add a "refused to participate" response to those who refused.