The Interaction of Sampling and Weighting In Producing a Representative Sample Online

The article examines the methodology of Internet surveys used in advertising and marketing research. The use of the techniques of weighting, in which different respondents to the survey are assigned unequal values to account for statistical bias in the sampling process through which respondents are chosen, is discussed. A dilemma for researcher is discussed in which although weighted data is more representative than unweighted responses, the use of weighting produces more variance within survey results.