The Commonwealth of Virginia wants to determine how many more people would use the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel if the price were lowered from $12 to $10 with a valid Virginia ID.
At first it was suggested that the Department of Motor Vehicles ask a random sample of people in the state if they had used the bridge in the past and how likely they would be to use it in the future should the rate remain the same and should the rate decrease. But objections were raised that the majority of Virginians do not live close enough to the bridge to be likely to use the bridge regardless of the price. It was then suggested that the survey be conducted at the tollbooth to the bridge. Again, there were objections. This time, the complaint was that you would not reach those who had decided not to use the bridge. Finally, someone suggested that the 10 counties closest to the bridge be identified and the survey be conducted by selecting a random sample of drivers in these counties. Everyone agreed that this was the preferable method to use in order to gauge increased traffic that would be generated by a reduction in rate.
In switching from the first sampling method where people were randomly chosen from all drivers in Virginia to the final sampling method, the state researchers were attempting to address the problem of people who live far from the bridge not using it. In this circumstance, what is the best description of how proximity to the bridge impacts this study?
A. It creates nonresponse bias.
B. It is a variable that could influence the response.
C. It defines the sampling frame.
D. It creates outliers.
E. It is used for clustering.
Answer: B