When I hear the news media cite the results of the most recent political polls, I tend to be skeptical. In fact, when I read the results of any poll, I like to also read HOW the survey was conducted. Very often that review reveals information that would suggest the poll could be skewed to generate whatever results the pollster was seeking.
Perhaps the main reason that I really question poll results is that so many rely on landline phones. How many people do you know that no longer have a landline phone? Or if they do, how many are likely to answer the phone and take the time to answer a pollster’s questions? Especially in today’s world where we’re so concerned with identity theft.
I thought of my own little immediate family, which I consider rather normal … for the most part. 
If a pollster were to put the 10 of us into neat little boxes, here’s how we would stack up:
- 100% of the people have cell phones. 50% have a smart phone.
- 25% of the households have a landline, 75% of the HH’s do not have a landline.
- 50% of the HH’s are DINKS (double income/no kids); 50% of HH’s are empty-nesters; 25% of HH’s have school-aged children; 25% of HH’s include seniors (oh, how I hate that term). (totals over 100% due to multiple answers)
- 100% of those over 18 yrs old are employed. 29% are under-employed.
- Of those currently employed, 29% are self-employed; 57% work in service industries; 14% work in manufacturing. Also, 71% sometimes telecommute to their employment.
- Regarding those over 18 yrs old, 57% have a high school degree and 43% have a college degree.
- 80% have a Facebook account.
If you were to do a similar “poll” of your family, what would the results look like? Do you think those phone polls are capturing a “representative sampling” of the population?
Copyright © 2010. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.
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The problem with polls …
When I hear the news media cite the results of the most recent political polls, I tend to be skeptical. In fact, when I read the results of any poll, I like to also read HOW the survey was conducted. Very often that review reveals information that would suggest the poll could be skewed to generate whatever results the pollster was seeking.
Perhaps the main reason that I really question poll results is that so many rely on landline phones. How many people do you know that no longer have a landline phone? Or if they do, how many are likely to answer the phone and take the time to answer a pollster’s questions? Especially in today’s world where we’re so concerned with identity theft.
I thought of my own little immediate family, which I consider rather normal … for the most part.
If a pollster were to put the 10 of us into neat little boxes, here’s how we would stack up:
If you were to do a similar “poll” of your family, what would the results look like? Do you think those phone polls are capturing a “representative sampling” of the population?
Copyright © 2010. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.
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