Missing Data - Techniques of Dealing With Missing Data

Techniques of Dealing With Missing Data

Missing data reduce the representativeness of the sample and can therefore distort inferences about the population. If it is possible try to think about how to prevent data from missingness before the actual data gathering takes place. For example in computer questionnaires it is often not possible to skip a question. A question has to be answered, otherwise one cannot continue to the next. So missing values due to the participant are eliminated by this type of questionnaire, though this method may not be permitted by an ethics board overseeing the research. And in survey research, it is common to make multiple efforts to contact each individual in the sample, often sending letters to attempt to persuade those who have decided not to participate to change their minds (Stoop et al. 2010: 161-187). However, such techniques can either help or hurt in terms of reducing the negative inferential effects of missing data, because the kind of people who are willing to be persuaded to participate after initially refusing or not being home are likely to be significantly different from the kinds of people who will still refuse or remain unreachable after additional effort (Stoop et al. 2010: 188-198).

In situations where missing data are likely to occur, the researcher is often advised to plan to use methods of data analysis methods that are robust to missingness. An analysis is robust when we are confident that mild to moderate violations of the technique's key assumptions will produce little or no bias, or distortion in the conclusions drawn about the population.