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TheMercenary · 02-14-2009, 10:22 PM

Recognizing the Impact of Statistics in Polls
A survey is an instrument that collects data through questions and answers and is used to gather information about the opinions, behaviors, demographics, lifestyles, and other reportable characteristics of the population of interest. What's the difference between a poll and a survey? Statisticians don't make a clear distinction between the two, but what people call a poll is typically a short survey containing only a few questions (maybe that's how researchers get more people to respond — they call it a poll rather than a survey!). But for all intents and purposes, surveys and polls are the same thing.

You come into contact with surveys and their results on a daily basis. Surveys even have their own television program: The game show Family Feud is completely based on surveys and the ability of the contestants to list the top answers that people provided on a survey. Contestants on this show must correctly identify the answers provided by respondents to survey questions such as, "Name an animal you may see at the zoo" or "Name a famous person named John."

Compared to other types of studies, such as medical experiments, surveys are relatively easy to conduct and aren't as expensive to carry out. They provide quick results that can often make interesting headlines in newspapers or eye-catching stories in magazines. People connect with surveys because they feel that survey results represent the opinions of people just like themselves (even though they may never have been asked to participate in a survey). And many people enjoy seeing how other people feel, what they do, where they go, and what they care about. Looking at survey results makes people feel connected with a bigger group, somehow. That's what pollsters (the people who conduct surveys) bank on, and that's why they spend so much time doing surveys and polls and reporting the results of this research.

Getting to the source
Who conducts surveys these days? Pretty much anyone and everyone who has a question to ask. Some of the groups that conduct polls and report the results include:

News organizations (for example, ABC News, CNN, Reuters)
Political parties (those in office and those trying to get into office)
Professional polling organizations (such as The Gallup Organization, The Harris Poll, Zogby International, and so on)
Representatives of magazines, TV shows, and radio programs
Professional organizations (such as the American Medical Association, which often conducts surveys of its membership)
Special-interest groups (such as the National Rifle Association)
Academic researchers (who conduct studies on a huge range of topics)
The U.S. government (which conducts the American Community Survey, the Crime Victimization Survey, and numerous other surveys through the Census Bureau)
Joe Public (who can easily conduct his own survey on the Internet)
Not everyone who conducts a poll is legitimate and trustworthy, so be sure to check the source of any survey in which you're asked to participate and for which you're given results. Groups that have a special interest in the results should either hire an independent organization to conduct (or at least to review) the survey, or they should offer copies of the survey questions to the public. Groups should also discuss in detail how the survey was designed and conducted, so that you can make an informed decision about the credibility of the results.

Surveying what's hot
The topics of many surveys are driven by current events, issues, and areas of interest; after all, timeliness and relevance to the public are two of the most attractive qualities of any survey. Here are just a few examples of some of the subjects being brought to the surface by today's surveys, along with some of the results being reported:

Does celebrity activism influence the political opinions of the American public? (Over 90% of the American public says no, according to CBS News.)
What percentage of Americans have dated someone online? (Only 6% of unmarried Internet users, according to CBS News.)
Is pain something that lots of Americans have to deal with? (According to CBS News, three-quarters of people under 50 suffer pain often or at least some of the time.)
How many people surf the Web to find health-related information? (About 98 million, according to The Harris Poll.)
What's the current level of investor optimism? (According to a survey by The Gallup Organization, it should be called investor pessimism.)
What was the worst car of the millennium? (The Yugo, according to listeners of the NPR radio show Car Talk.)
When you read the preceding survey results, do you find yourself thinking about what the results mean to you, rather than first asking yourself whether the results are valid? Some of the preceding survey results are more valid and accurate than others, and you should think about whether to believe the results first, before accepting them without question.

Making an impact on lives
Whereas some surveys are fun to look at and think about, other surveys can have a direct impact on your life or your workplace. These life-decision surveys need to be closely scrutinized before action is taken or important decisions are made. Surveys at this level can cause politicians to change or create new laws, motivate researchers to work on the latest problems, encourage manufacturers to invent new products or change business policies and practices, and influence people's behavior and ways of thinking. The following are some examples of recent survey results that can impact you:

Teens drive under the influence: A recent Reuters survey of 1,119 teenagers in Ontario, Canada, from grades 7 through 13 found that, at some point during the previous year, 15% of them had driven a car after consuming at least two drinks.
Children's health care suffers: A survey of 400 pediatricians by the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., reported that pediatricians spend, on average, only 8 to 12 minutes with each patient.
Crimes go unreported: According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice 2001 Crime Victimization Survey, only 49.4% of violent crimes were reported to police. The reasons victims gave for not reporting crimes to the police are listed in Table 1.

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/conten...-in-polls.html

Follow the links:

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/conten...ntire-pop.html

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/conten...tatistics.html

02-14-2009, 10:22 PM	#152
TheMercenary “Hypocrisy: prejudice with a halo” Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Savannah, Georgia Posts: 21,393	Recognizing the Impact of Statistics in Polls A survey is an instrument that collects data through questions and answers and is used to gather information about the opinions, behaviors, demographics, lifestyles, and other reportable characteristics of the population of interest. What's the difference between a poll and a survey? Statisticians don't make a clear distinction between the two, but what people call a poll is typically a short survey containing only a few questions (maybe that's how researchers get more people to respond — they call it a poll rather than a survey!). But for all intents and purposes, surveys and polls are the same thing. You come into contact with surveys and their results on a daily basis. Surveys even have their own television program: The game show Family Feud is completely based on surveys and the ability of the contestants to list the top answers that people provided on a survey. Contestants on this show must correctly identify the answers provided by respondents to survey questions such as, "Name an animal you may see at the zoo" or "Name a famous person named John." Compared to other types of studies, such as medical experiments, surveys are relatively easy to conduct and aren't as expensive to carry out. They provide quick results that can often make interesting headlines in newspapers or eye-catching stories in magazines. People connect with surveys because they feel that survey results represent the opinions of people just like themselves (even though they may never have been asked to participate in a survey). And many people enjoy seeing how other people feel, what they do, where they go, and what they care about. Looking at survey results makes people feel connected with a bigger group, somehow. That's what pollsters (the people who conduct surveys) bank on, and that's why they spend so much time doing surveys and polls and reporting the results of this research. Getting to the source Who conducts surveys these days? Pretty much anyone and everyone who has a question to ask. Some of the groups that conduct polls and report the results include: News organizations (for example, ABC News, CNN, Reuters) Political parties (those in office and those trying to get into office) Professional polling organizations (such as The Gallup Organization, The Harris Poll, Zogby International, and so on) Representatives of magazines, TV shows, and radio programs Professional organizations (such as the American Medical Association, which often conducts surveys of its membership) Special-interest groups (such as the National Rifle Association) Academic researchers (who conduct studies on a huge range of topics) The U.S. government (which conducts the American Community Survey, the Crime Victimization Survey, and numerous other surveys through the Census Bureau) Joe Public (who can easily conduct his own survey on the Internet) Not everyone who conducts a poll is legitimate and trustworthy, so be sure to check the source of any survey in which you're asked to participate and for which you're given results. Groups that have a special interest in the results should either hire an independent organization to conduct (or at least to review) the survey, or they should offer copies of the survey questions to the public. Groups should also discuss in detail how the survey was designed and conducted, so that you can make an informed decision about the credibility of the results. Surveying what's hot The topics of many surveys are driven by current events, issues, and areas of interest; after all, timeliness and relevance to the public are two of the most attractive qualities of any survey. Here are just a few examples of some of the subjects being brought to the surface by today's surveys, along with some of the results being reported: Does celebrity activism influence the political opinions of the American public? (Over 90% of the American public says no, according to CBS News.) What percentage of Americans have dated someone online? (Only 6% of unmarried Internet users, according to CBS News.) Is pain something that lots of Americans have to deal with? (According to CBS News, three-quarters of people under 50 suffer pain often or at least some of the time.) How many people surf the Web to find health-related information? (About 98 million, according to The Harris Poll.) What's the current level of investor optimism? (According to a survey by The Gallup Organization, it should be called investor pessimism.) What was the worst car of the millennium? (The Yugo, according to listeners of the NPR radio show Car Talk.) When you read the preceding survey results, do you find yourself thinking about what the results mean to you, rather than first asking yourself whether the results are valid? Some of the preceding survey results are more valid and accurate than others, and you should think about whether to believe the results first, before accepting them without question. Making an impact on lives Whereas some surveys are fun to look at and think about, other surveys can have a direct impact on your life or your workplace. These life-decision surveys need to be closely scrutinized before action is taken or important decisions are made. Surveys at this level can cause politicians to change or create new laws, motivate researchers to work on the latest problems, encourage manufacturers to invent new products or change business policies and practices, and influence people's behavior and ways of thinking. The following are some examples of recent survey results that can impact you: Teens drive under the influence: A recent Reuters survey of 1,119 teenagers in Ontario, Canada, from grades 7 through 13 found that, at some point during the previous year, 15% of them had driven a car after consuming at least two drinks. Children's health care suffers: A survey of 400 pediatricians by the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., reported that pediatricians spend, on average, only 8 to 12 minutes with each patient. Crimes go unreported: According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice 2001 Crime Victimization Survey, only 49.4% of violent crimes were reported to police. The reasons victims gave for not reporting crimes to the police are listed in Table 1. http://www.dummies.com/how-to/conten...-in-polls.html Follow the links: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/conten...ntire-pop.html http://www.dummies.com/how-to/conten...tatistics.html __________________ Anyone but the this most fuked up President in History in 2012!