One of the ways in which sample information is utilized is in polls. We see samp

Question

One of the ways in which sample information is utilized is in polls.  We see sample results from polls, surveys and the like all the time in the media.  When we turn on the television, read the paper, or a journal, there are survey & poll results all around us.  This week, please do some research (either on the web, journals, newspapers, etc.) and choose a survey or poll for evaluation.  Provide the weblink where other students and the instructor can access the chosen article.   

Then, discuss how you go about assessing the credibility of that particular survey or poll.  Provide a list of questions that you would pose to the group who has carried out the survey that would help you to assess its credibility.

Explanation / Answer

The best polls are produced by independent, nonpartisan polling organizations, with no vested interest in the outcome of the findings. These include organizations like Gallup and the Pew Research Center and as well as media groups such as CBS News/New York Times, ABC News/Washington Post and NBC News/Wall Street Journal. Many surveys are conducted by partisan actors — political consulting firms, industry groups and candidates. In some cases, the findings are biased by factors such as respondent selection and question wording. Partisan-based polls need to be carefully scrutinized and, when possible, reported in comparison with nonpartisan poll results.

It’s important to remember that polls are a snapshot of opinion at a point in time. Despite 60 years of experience since Truman defied the polls and defeated Dewey in the 1948 presidential election, pollsters can still miss big: In the 2008 Democratic primary in New Hampshire, Barack Obama was pegged to win, but Hillary Clinton came out on top. A study in Public Opinion Quarterly found that “polling problems in New Hampshire in 2008 were not the exception, but the rule.” In a fluid political environment, it is risky to assume that polls can predict the distribution of opinion even a short time later.

Here are some polling concepts that journalists and students should be familiar with:

- See more at: http://journalistsresource.org/tip-sheets/reporting/polling-fundamentals-journalists#sthash.HuYdm5Uh.dpuf

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