Define and describe one limitation of volunteer sampling.

Volunteer sampling refers to recruiting subjects who are willing to participate in the study. For example, the researcher could distribute leaflets and place an advertisement in a newspaper. The voluntary recruits will then contact the researcher.
One limitation of volunteer sampling is the biased sample produced. The volunteers might share psychological traits which differ from those who do not volunteer. For instance, these individuals might have higher levels of motivation or free time on their hand. This self-selection bias will reduce the representativeness of the sample.

GE

Related Psychology A Level answers

All answers ▸

What are the limitations of using Informed Consent in a study? And how do researchers overcome this?


What is the difference between an independent variable (IV) and a dependent variable (DV)?


Outline one study that has investigated stress-related illness and the immune system. In your answer you should refer to what was done and what was found. (4 marks)


Observe the following set of data points: [1 2 2 2 3 4 8 9 9 10 10 12]. What is the mean and standard deviation of this data? Are the mean and standard deviation a good summary of the distribution, and why? Calculator allowed.