# Number of radio listeners **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 30, 2020, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-radio-listeners/921908 "2020-09-30T18:07:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-radio-listeners/921908/21 "2020-10-02T04:27:38Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > they recruit you There’s a Yakov Smirnoff joke in there somewhere. I think the conspiracy theorist nuts would have a ball with these “secret audio signals”. Hope they don’t pick up on it. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-radio-listeners/921908/22 "2020-10-02T09:46:45Z")
Yes, my OP question was based on my local public Classical music station, in their recent pledge drive, claiming that X% of their listening public becoming members. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-radio-listeners/921908/23 "2020-10-03T04:04:35Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Apparently they’ve upped their pay slightly. A few weeks ago they sent me a short survey and a dollar bill, and promised five dollars if I filled it out and sent it back. Wtf? ☹ I just got my $3 diary a few months ago! Was it Nielsen for sure or some other group like Arbitron? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-radio-listeners/921908/24 "2020-10-03T04:16:19Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Was it Nielsen for sure or some other group like Arbitron? Arbitron has been owned by Nielsen for some years now (it’s now “Nielsen Audio”), but it seems that there are some smaller research companies doing radio ratings, as well. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-radio-listeners/921908/25 "2020-10-03T04:25:52Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Was it Nielsen for sure or some other group like Arbitron? Yes, it was Nielsen. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-radio-listeners/921908/26 "2020-10-03T08:26:27Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > So, while they are not perfect samples, they are also not purely skewed by being what market researchers are called a “convenience sample” (i.e., just some bored people we rounded up to participate). Yeah, but a self-selecting and paid sample isn’t very representative of the larger population, is it? I know if someone asked me to do that, I’d just be like no thanks, I’m not going to waste my time with your survey. So even if the sample demographically similar, those folks either care more about radio or at last need money more, no? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-radio-listeners/921908/27 "2020-10-03T16:25:45Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Yeah, but a self-selecting and paid sample isn’t very representative of the larger population, is it? It’s _not_ a self-selected sample. A self-selected sample is one where the research company simply takes all interested respondents who volunteer, and does nothing to screen them, or balance them for demographics and other characteristics. As I already noted, you cannot actively volunteer to be on the Nielsen panel; they identify a household which they believe meets the characteristics that they need, and recruit _you_. But, yes, many people simply don’t want to participate in a market research study. It’s an eternal problem in _all_ market research, and you are correct, we cannot say with absolute certainty that the people who participate are attitudinally similar to those who refuse to, even if they are demographically similar. Yes, they pay respondents to participate, but the fact that they don’t pay very much means that very few respondents are simply doing it for the money. Market research will never be able to generate a perfect sample of a population or audience, because of “non-response bias” (i.e., not capturing the attitudes or behaviors of the sorts of people who refuse to participate). But, this is a known fact in the industry, and in most cases, it’s not generally believed to be a major problem with the data generated. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-radio-listeners/921908.md?page=1)