Question

. Online Medical Info USA Today posted this question on its web "How often do you seek medical information online?" Of 1072 Internet users who chose to respond, 38% of them responded with "frequently." What term is used to describe this type of survey in which the people surveyed consist of those who decided to respond? What is wrong with this type of sampling method?

Answer 1

The term used to describe this type of survey is - voluntary response sample or self elected sample.

The thing that is wrong with this type of sampling is that only those people will respond who have a strong interest in the particular topic.

Also, it is quite possible that only 38% responses do not reflect the opinions of the whole general population.