Advantages and Disadvantages
Since participants in an open access poll are volunteers rather than a random sample, such polls represent the most interested individuals, just as in voting. In the case of political polls, such participants might be more likely voters.
Because no sampling frame is used to draw the sample of participants, open access polls may not have participants that represent the larger population. Indeed, they may be composed simply of individuals who happen to hear about the poll. As a consequence, the results of the poll cannot be generalized, but are only representative of the participants of the poll.
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Famous quotes containing the word advantages:
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)