I hope I'm not repeating myself here, but I did my own little "poll" a couple of days ago. I'm one of those people on FB who doesn't "friend request" everyone I meet, and I periodically do a "cleansing" of riffraff who somehow show up on my page...so my "friends" total is too low for any meaningful result: 678. I just asked two simple qu…
I hope I'm not repeating myself here, but I did my own little "poll" a couple of days ago. I'm one of those people on FB who doesn't "friend request" everyone I meet, and I periodically do a "cleansing" of riffraff who somehow show up on my page...so my "friends" total is too low for any meaningful result: 678. I just asked two simple questions: have any of you ever been polled and do you know anyone who has been polled? (My own answer to both questions is no and no.) Of that 678, twelve responded. Of the twelve, only four had been "polled." One had been "polled" in a mall about favorite restaurants. One had been "polled" by telephone about environmental issues. The other two had declined to respond. So, my "poll" was absolutely worthless in terms of meaning - as are most.
As Pat Ebervein already noted, anyone with a brain doesn't answer a call from an unknown number, so telephone "polling" should be taken with a grain of salt.
My guess is that the "poll cats" are terrified they're about to lose their means of paying the bills. And they don't know how to fix that. As far as I'm concerned, ALL polls should be suspect. As for those still hungering for the poll du jour, I'd recommend first noting who is serving it up - CNN is not the only disreputable purchaser and purveyor of tainted ingredients. Polls should come with a warning label: be careful what you swallow. This item has passed its expiration date.
I hope I'm not repeating myself here, but I did my own little "poll" a couple of days ago. I'm one of those people on FB who doesn't "friend request" everyone I meet, and I periodically do a "cleansing" of riffraff who somehow show up on my page...so my "friends" total is too low for any meaningful result: 678. I just asked two simple questions: have any of you ever been polled and do you know anyone who has been polled? (My own answer to both questions is no and no.) Of that 678, twelve responded. Of the twelve, only four had been "polled." One had been "polled" in a mall about favorite restaurants. One had been "polled" by telephone about environmental issues. The other two had declined to respond. So, my "poll" was absolutely worthless in terms of meaning - as are most.
As Pat Ebervein already noted, anyone with a brain doesn't answer a call from an unknown number, so telephone "polling" should be taken with a grain of salt.
My guess is that the "poll cats" are terrified they're about to lose their means of paying the bills. And they don't know how to fix that. As far as I'm concerned, ALL polls should be suspect. As for those still hungering for the poll du jour, I'd recommend first noting who is serving it up - CNN is not the only disreputable purchaser and purveyor of tainted ingredients. Polls should come with a warning label: be careful what you swallow. This item has passed its expiration date.
I participated in a Pew poll several years ago. I was not impressed