Thursday, April 12, 2012
Polls - We need to know this about them
My post doesn't have so much to do with this story as it does with the two paragraphs I'm showing below.
The lesson is to understand that polls are often designed to extract answers that serve a particular purpose or agenda.
Many are not even worth a minute of our time...
The lesson is to understand that polls are often designed to extract answers that serve a particular purpose or agenda.
Many are not even worth a minute of our time...
In this article by Dave Andrusko at NationalRightToLifeNews.com are these telling paragraphs:
"'Having paid for many polls myself on behalf of The Wall Street Journal, I know that the questions are worked out between the client and the professional polling firm, giving the sponsor final say over exactly what is being measured. Influence over the question obviously gives you influence over the answer...'
'Some polls are manipulative by design, and almost all press releases on polls exaggerate by trying to draw headline-making conclusions. Reporters and editors have to as careful as possible to define just what is being measured, how it compares to other measures, and what the margin of error is.'"
