An analysis of survey reporting in the imaging professions: Is the issue of non-response bias being adequately addressed?

BackgroundSurveys are a common method of data collection within health service research. An essential aspect of reporting survey research is ensuring that sufficient information is provided to enable readers to determine the validity and representativeness of research findings.MethodThis study reports a secondary analysis of survey research published in Radiography and Clinical Radiology between 2001 and 2010. The purpose of the study was to evaluate trends in response rates and establish how non-response bias was being addressed.ResultsAnalysis of non-response bias was undertaken in 9.4% (n = 9/96) of studies. Where analysis was performed, strong reliance on demographic characteristics to determine sample representativeness was noted (n = 8/9; 88.9%).ConclusionThe findings of this study suggest that non-response bias is not being adequately addressed within published imaging related survey research and more needs to be done to encourage a rigorous approach to the analysis and reporting of survey results.