Final answer:
A voluntary response sample is when participants volunteer to be part of a study. It is generally not suitable for a statistical study because it can introduce bias into the results.
Step-by-step explanation:
A voluntary response sample is a sample where participants volunteer to be part of the study. This type of sample is generally not suitable for a statistical study because it can introduce bias into the results. Bias is when certain groups or individuals are overrepresented or underrepresented in the sample, which can lead to inaccurate conclusions about the population being studied.
For example, if a survey about a new food product is conducted through voluntary response sampling, people who have strong opinions about the product may be more likely to participate. This would result in biased results because the sample does not represent the population accurately.
In contrast, a random sample, where participants are selected randomly from the population, is considered a more reliable and representative method for conducting statistical studies. In a random sample, every individual in the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample, which helps reduce bias and ensure the results are more generalizable to the population as a whole.