Eivastausten

Eivastausten is a Finnish-language term used in informal discourse to refer to the phenomenon of not answering or failing to provide a response. The word is formed from ei (no) and vastaus (answer), with eivastausten functioning as the genitive plural form that appears in phrases describing the lack of replies, such as “eivastausten ilmiö” or “eivastausten määrä.” It is not an established scholarly term, but it has circulated in online discussions, blogs, and social media.

In usage, eivastausten is often invoked when discussing nonresponse in various contexts—survey participation, public inquiries, political debates, or online conversations. It can denote both unintentional nonresponse (overlooked questions, sampling gaps) and deliberate withholding of information (silence or avoidance). Because it arises from everyday language rather than formal statistical terminology, its interpretation can vary by context and speaker.

Relation to broader concepts, limitations, and reliability: eivastausten aligns with broader ideas of nonresponse and missing data in research, yet it is not a standardized technical term in Finnish statistics. As such, statements employing eivastausten should be understood as descriptive or colloquial, not prescriptive. For rigorous analysis, researchers would typically use established concepts such as nonresponse rate, missing data mechanisms, or response bias.

See also: nonresponse, survey nonresponse, missing data, silence in communication.