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CA Foundation · Quantitative Aptitude · Statistical Description of Data

A company in Surat wants quick opinions from customers about a new product. It sends a questionnaire by post, and customers fill it in and mail it back without any interviewer being present. Which is a recognised drawback of this method of collecting primary data?

The recognised drawback is that mailed questionnaires usually get a low response rate, and the replies may be biased because only people interested enough respond. The method is actually cheap and covers wide areas, so cost and geographic spread are not its weaknesses.

  1. AIt is very costly because many interviewers must be hired
  2. BThe response rate is often low and replies may be biased towards those who choose to respondCorrect
  3. CIt cannot be used when respondents are spread over a wide area
  4. DRespondents must always be literate, so the data are always accurate

Explanation

Mailed questionnaires are cheap and cover wide areas, so the first and third options are wrong because they state advantages as drawbacks or false claims. Their main weaknesses are low response and non-response bias, since only some people reply. Literacy is needed, but this does not guarantee accuracy.

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