The handling of nonresponse error

✍ Scribed by Larry M. Dooley; James R. Lindner

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 97 KB
• Volume: 14
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1044-8004
• DOI: 10.1002/hrdq.1052

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

This study was designed to describe and explore how nonresponse in Human Resource Development
Quarterly (HRDQ) historically has been handled. All feature and article manuscripts (n
= 158) published in HRDQ during the years 1990 through 1999 were analyzed using
content analysis techniques. Study findings show that not mentioning nonresponse error as a threat to external
validity of a study, not attempting to control for nonresponse error, or not providing a reference to the
literature were unfortunately the norm and not the exception. Four recommendations for handling nonresponse
error are comparison of early to late respondents, using “days to respond” as a regression
variable, comparing respondents to nonrespondents, and comparing respondents on characteristics known a
priori.