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It's funny, I've mentioned this for surveys in the past and I keep getting told I don't understand statistics.
by Zikes 13y ago
It's funny, I've mentioned this for surveys in the past and I keep getting told I don't understand statistics.
- mpyne 13y agoIf the survey was properly randomized, then it's actually probably true that you don't understand statistics...
- cinquemb 13y agoDepends on the types of people who are likely to give up their phone number for national political polling reasons, and in that subset, I'd think that is hardly random.
- mpyne 13y agoThey don't go out and canvass for phone numbers first. If they don't include cell phone numbers it's possible to bias more towards older persons, but that wouldn't invalidate the survey either.
- cinquemb 13y agoThe survey itself? Probably not. The conclusion most people are likely to draw from it and apply it overarchingly, that is what I question.
- Zikes 13y agoIt's true, I've never taken a statistics course. But, if the experts tell me a 0.0003% sample size is fine so long as it's the RIGHT 0.0003%, then I guess I'll have to concede the point.
- mpyne 13y agoThe Central Limit Theorem and the Law of Large Numbers are wonderful things.