ABSTRACT
Low response rates in quantitative research studies can be a real problem for data collection in applied linguistics research, because they can cause bias in the data set and affect sample size. Survey research tends to be the area where low response rates have been noted. However, low response rates can affect other kinds of research methods in applied linguistics, including experimental and corpus linguistics methodologies. A research project, such as a PhD dissertation, with several stages that rely on large numbers of participants can be drastically affected by a low response rate. If researchers are facing problems with low response rates, there are a range of possible courses of action to take both before and during data collection. Planning is without a doubt one of the most important ways to deal with low response rates. In a study with relatively low response rates, the sample size finally obtained can be difficult for the researcher.
