Weighting

Weighting is a statistical technique used to correct survey non-response from specific groups. It is often necessary because, in market research, we typically conduct a survey, not a census (in which every member of a population is successfully surveyed), and some groups have higher non-response rates. For example, in a survey of working parents about childcare options, the researcher may garner an inadequate response from males. In this case, the researcher would identify (from a reliable source) what percent of working parents are males and apply a weighting factor to adjust the collected data to be more accurate. See also: Data Quality Essentials for Survey Research