Chapter 17
Polls, Polls, and More Polls
IN THIS CHAPTER
Realizing the impact of polls and surveys
Going behind the scenes of polls and surveys
Detecting biased and inaccurate survey results
Surveys are all the rage amid today’s information explosion. Everyone wants to know how the public feels about issues from prescription drug prices and methods of disciplining children to approval ratings of the president and ratings of reality TV shows. Polls and surveys are a big part of American life; they’re a vehicle for quickly getting information about how you feel, what you think, and how you live your life, and they’re a means of quickly disseminating information about important issues. Surveys highlight controversial topics, raise awareness, make political points, stress the importance of an issue, and educate or persuade the public.
Survey results can be powerful, because when many people hear that “such and such percentage of the American people do this or that,” they accept these results as the truth, and then make decisions and form opinions based on that information. But in fact, ...
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