Research Tips

Be Cautious About Using Convenience Samples

The availability of software for conducting surveys online has led to a big increase in the use of Web-based surveys, but many of these use convenience samples — people who volunteer to participate in the survey having seen it mentioned on a Web site or in a pop-up window. That’s a concern because results from convenience samples are often not representative of the attitudes, behaviours, etc. of the groups of people to whom the results of the survey are going to be applied. The same concern applies to the use of convenience samples in other situations, such as focus groups.