Surveys are the principal source of data not only for social science, but for consumer research, political polling, and federal statistics. In response to social and technological trends, rates of survey nonresponse have risen markedly in recent years, prompting observers to worry about the continued validity of surveys as a tool for data gathering. This introductory article sets the stage for the comprehensive review that follows of the causes and consequences of nonresponse for survey data and the approaches that have been developed to address it.
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