Causes of sample attrition in a typical social science research

In a social science research, personal bias and prejudice are the most common factors responsible for sample attrition. It is common and natural for researchers to have their own unique opinions and mindsets regarding people of different genders races, or ethnicities. This way, the decision of the researchers to choose the sample for their research may be strongly influenced by their personal biases. Let us consider a social science research focusing on determining the root cause of terrorism in the Middle East. In such a research study, non-partisan neutrality is essential in ensuring that the results are not biased or partial (Ellis et al., 2010). However, the personal biases of the researchers may have a strong influence on the sample attrition. For example, if the researchers are pro-Israel, then the sample would mostly contain Israelis. On the other hand, if the researchers are Palestinians, the sample would mostly comprise of Palestinians. In a similar manner, when it comes to controversial and widely debated subjects, the issue of personal bias affecting the sample attrition is also common (Ellis et al., 2010). For example, the likelihood of sample attrition is higher in a research rating the intelligence of women as higher than men if it is conducted by female researchers.