Is there a term for this?
March 5, 2019 6:24 AM Subscribe
My google skills are not up to snuff for this. I'm looking for a term where people are asked for input (workplace, surveys, etc) but never get any results or feedback about their input, resulting in less input provided by those people. This decreased input is then interpreted as "well, there must not be a problem if we're not hearing about it."
Best example I can think of is the unemployment rate. In the news a year or two ago, there were reports of a stable or slightly decreasing unemployment rate. This was interpreted by some as unemployment improving. In actuality, people that were unemployed for long stretches of time were less likely to report being unemployed. So the problem didn't really get better, the data was just bad.
Is there a term for this process/situation?
Best example I can think of is the unemployment rate. In the news a year or two ago, there were reports of a stable or slightly decreasing unemployment rate. This was interpreted by some as unemployment improving. In actuality, people that were unemployed for long stretches of time were less likely to report being unemployed. So the problem didn't really get better, the data was just bad.
Is there a term for this process/situation?
Seconding capricorn. You might also try “selection bias,” which I think is taking over as an umbrella term. Ngrams link
posted by eirias at 8:43 AM on March 5, 2019
posted by eirias at 8:43 AM on March 5, 2019
Your first example of decreasing responses to workplace surveys is specifically non-response bias, which is a type of selection bias.
But I'm not sure if that completely covers your example of unemployment rates, which seems to also involve poor interpretation of data.
posted by theory at 9:01 AM on March 5, 2019
But I'm not sure if that completely covers your example of unemployment rates, which seems to also involve poor interpretation of data.
posted by theory at 9:01 AM on March 5, 2019
I'm not aware of a name for that whole dynamic. Sampling bias is just one aspect of the broader situation.
The specific situation you refer to is called "permanently discouraged workers" or just "discouraged workers," so perhaps by analogy we could call this the "discouragement & mis-sampling cycle."
posted by adamrice at 10:49 AM on March 5, 2019
The specific situation you refer to is called "permanently discouraged workers" or just "discouraged workers," so perhaps by analogy we could call this the "discouragement & mis-sampling cycle."
posted by adamrice at 10:49 AM on March 5, 2019
Best answer: It could also be ``cooling the mark out'', depending on how intentional you think it is.
posted by clew at 11:32 PM on March 5, 2019
posted by clew at 11:32 PM on March 5, 2019
In case a second example would help:
If you handle the first few sexual harassment complaints poorly, people will stop complaining (to you). And then it may look like you have no harassment issues. Unfortunately, "zero" for harassment appears to be nonzero. If you really measure zero, you're just not getting the measurement.
posted by meaty shoe puppet at 6:18 AM on March 7, 2019
If you handle the first few sexual harassment complaints poorly, people will stop complaining (to you). And then it may look like you have no harassment issues. Unfortunately, "zero" for harassment appears to be nonzero. If you really measure zero, you're just not getting the measurement.
posted by meaty shoe puppet at 6:18 AM on March 7, 2019
« Older Importance of Physical Attraction When Looking at... | Yes, it's another "How Do I Television" question Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by capricorn at 7:16 AM on March 5, 2019 [5 favorites]