Research Tips

Self-Selection Bias

Organizations that do market research are frequently contacted by people who want to participate in surveys, focus groups, etc. in exchange for payments and other participation incentives. Many companies also maintain panels or lists of individuals who are willing to participate in research. These things definitely make it easier to find research participants quickly, but this comes at a cost.

People who seek out opportunities to participate in research may not be representative of the population of interest (e.g., all users of a particular type of product). They may have more free time or less disposable income than people who don’t ask to participate in research, and most importantly their attitudes and behaviors relating to the product, organization, or issue being researched may not be representative of the population of interest. This is called self-selection bias. Since participation in most types of market research is voluntary, self-selection bias may also be present in research involving people who have not specifically asked to participate because those who agree to participate may be different from those who do not; however, starting with a probability sample rather than a self-selected sample reduces the likelihood of bias.