3 ms·
For many types of data you'd like, there is no alternative. For example for political polls, especially early ones where you're asking people who they would vot
by tsimionescu 2y ago
For many types of data you'd like, there is no alternative. For example for political polls, especially early ones where you're asking people who they would vote for if so and so were running, what other tool could you use? Or how would you verify the results?
Of course, given the weakness of the data, you have to remember to place very little trust in the results. Even so, "X% of people say they would vote for Y" can be an interesting information in itself, even if those people were lying.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- graemep 2y agoPolls may or may not be carried out in a neutral way. A good many are deliberately biased, even more have known flaws that are glossed over. A humorous take on this I love (from the 80s BBC comedy Yes Minister, which is often scarily realistic): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0ZZJXw4MTA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0ZZJXw4MTA
- tsimionescu 2y agoOh, absolutely, even in more subtle, unintentional ways (order of responses, whether you offer a neutral option or not, etc). But that doesn't mean polling is entirely useless, or that you need to verify the responses in the way that the original seemed to suggest.