The Polluted Poll

We have learned that there are many ways in which polls and surveys can be biased:

  • NonResponse Bias
  • Undercoverage
  • Leading Questions
  • Social Desirability
  • Convenience and Voluntary Samples

But just because there are rules to follow to create unbiased surveys doesn't mean people always follow them. This can be intentional or unintentional. But we will keep being presented with the results of these surveys regardless. 

The most important thing with surveys is for people to be educated about how to interpret the results that are presented to them and how to identify sources of bias. 

We've covered this topic quite a bit back in Unit 1.