Statistics Dictionary
To see a definition, select a term from the dropdown text box below. The statistics
dictionary will display the definition, plus links to related web pages.
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Undercoverage
In survey sampling, undercoverage is a type of
selection bias
. It occurs when some
members of the
population
are inadequately represented in the
sample.
A classic example of undercoverage is the
Literary
Digest
voter survey, which predicted that
Alfred Landon would beat Franklin Roosevelt in the 1936
presidential election. The survey sample suffered from
undercoverage of low-income voters, who tended to be
Democrats. Undercoverage is often a problem with
convenience samples
.
