As I said here, about phone polls, I really don’t want to waste my time and I’m not wanting to answer silly questions that I know that are setups for a desired result. How do I know? Well, by the question’s construction – and I’m not the only one (emphasis mine).
Related: Right To Know Request – Same-Day Registrations From Tuesday’s NH Primary Election
NEWS YOU CAN USE: Your Definitive Guide to Understanding Polling (and Why Most Polls Are Garbage):
“When reviewing polls in 2016, I came across bad poll after bad poll as a result of oversampling problems as well as push-poll lines of questions or questions that are framed in a way to influence the way someone answers. For instance, if a polling firm asked a question ‘Do you agree with Joe Biden’s call for all Americans to unite?’, it doesn’t leave any room for someone saying they disagree with the premise of the question, that is, Joe Biden even having that ability in the first place. Another example of a push poll question is ‘Do you support Donald Trump’s divisive rhetoric?’ Maybe the respondent doesn’t believe Trump’s rhetoric is divisive. Maybe the respondent thinks the Democrats’ rhetoric is divisive. Either way, a respondent is less likely to respond in the affirmative to supporting divisive rhetoric and therefore would lead to a skewing of the results.”
Go to the link for a few more tidbits that you should be aware of when reading a headline boasting of a poll. Polling used to be for information; they’re often co-opted by the MSM to create a news item that is camouflage for a “push the Narrative” piece. Good advice on looking at the “cross-tabs” (which break down the overall desired result) that show how many said what in reaction to a question and the sampling size. The latter drives former which drives the overall desired result.
I’ve already gotten 3 calls this morning – getting more and more irritated as it breaks me “out of the zone” for what I’m doing and have become annoying as all get out. So, in my own way, I’m skewing their polls leftward by not answering. Sure, they have numbers they need to get a “proper” response, but I’m most likely a couple of standard deviations on the right of the curve of what they’ll end up with. Failure to get me, and others like me, give a skewed left result.
Good, be that silent voter that messes up their projections like in 2016. Or start paying me for my observations.
Take your pick. Pick well, my friends!
(H/T: Instapundit)
