SCI199Y: Short project 3 due November 28

Background: What makes a good poll

The article in the Globe and Mail that was handed out on October 10 is a very clear, if brief, account of what makes a good poll. In Statistics: concepts and controversies, the following poll guidelines are listed:

• What was the population? That is, whose opinions were being sought?
• How was the sample selected? Look for mention of random sampling, probability sampling.
• What was the size of the sample? It is even better to give the margin of error.
• How were the subjects contacted?
• When was the survey conducted?
• What were the exact questions asked?

The author goes on to say

The codes of ethics of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) requires disclosure of this information. The major opinion polls always answer these questions in their press releases when announcing the results of a poll. But newspaper editors have the bad habit of cutting out the paragraphs containing these facts and printing only the lead paragraphs announcing the results. Worse, new methods for conducting telephone surveys have brought a proliferation of state or regional polls run by newspapers or broadcasting stations. ... If a politician, an advertiser, or your local newspaper announces the results of a poll without complete information, be skeptical.

Assignment

1. Find (and submit a copy of) a convincing newspaper or magazine article about a poll. Explain why you think it is convincing.
2. Find (and submit a copy of) a newspaper or magazine article that strikes you as possibly misleading. Explain why you find it so.

About this document ...

This document was generated using the LaTeX2HTML translator Version 0.6.4 (Tues Aug 30 1994) Copyright © 1993, 1994, Nikos Drakos, Computer Based Learning Unit, University of Leeds.

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The translation was initiated by Marie K. Snell on Thu Nov 16 15:12:34 CST 1995