Someone recently sent me something from a social media site that was amusing. It was purported to be a "Poll."
The funny thing about polls is that depending upon how they are administered and depending upon how they are worded-- they can be used to push the respondent one way or another, depending upon what the pollster's actual desired outcome is. It is called a Push Poll. They are used frequently in politics.
Once administered just the way the pollster wants it he/she can then proudly exclaim "See, look at these numbers!" This obviously means "X!" (which oftentimes also, conveniently, aligns with what the "pollster" wants.....)
The audience sampled is also key.
I served on the school board for a long time, before that I spent some time teaching at the 2nd and 3rd grade level. I coached youth sports and raised three children, so I spent some time in schools around students. I know how kids think.
So Imagine if I conducted this sort of a poll at the lunchroom full of elementary school students:
"Attention students, which would you prefer to eat today?"
A. Baked Spanish Mackerel with Yellow Squash
or
B. Strawberry Shortcake
Of course we know what that answer would be.
But the value of the conclusions drawn are distorted. Although I personally don't like Mackerel ( I use it as bait for Striped Marlin when I go deep sea fishing in Cabo ) --there are many people that love Mackerel.
If I asked the very same question above of a group of 30-something low-carb fitness fanatics--would the results be the same as the results from the elementary school students?
(Answer: of course not)
