Friendly reminder:
No warning issued.
Gfactor
Pit Moderator
There may be one chance in 20 that the results are outside 2% of the results the poll presents, but as you move farther and farther from that result, you move farther and farther in to the long tail of the probability distribution. I don’t think a mere 2% difference would change anybody’s interpretation of the poll. If you’re looking for a 10% shift in the results, you’re well into the tail of the distribution and far less than 1 in 20 polls is going to have that result by mere chance.
Also consider that the poll has an equal chance of skewing either direction and that you have to get the shift you want on every question, and rerunning the poll until you get the results you want is highly, highly, cumbersome, expensive, and unlikely.
A metaphor for your ignorance? Got it. Anyone who knows anything about sampling knows about the Literary Digest disaster, as it is often used as a bad example. But, given your politics, it is no surprise that your knowledge of history is rather lacking.
That should be 1 - .95** 20 of course. :smack: .95 ** 20 is the probability that the results will fall within 2% of the “real” value for all 20 trials.
What’s the difference between a duck?
1.) strongly agree
2.) agree
3.) no opinion
4.) disaggre
5.) strongly disagree
Of course surveys can be biased - I mentioned the one I got from the Pubbies. This one wasn’t.
Here is a biased question: Given that Obama has attempted to get government to take over healthcare, do you think he is a socialist?
Barack Obama has never produced a birth certificate. Do you believe he was born in the United States?
Just asking a question to detect a potential bias is not bias.
And I have no idea what a random question even means. Perhaps another metaphor?
ACORN stole the election? Man, what a desperate narrative. I’ve met these people, and they wouldn’t do it. They are, bless their hearts, idealists. If there were some scenario whereby I could cheat and connive, and by so doing, prevent Sarah Palin from being one heartbeat from the Presidency, I would do it. My integrity means a lot to me, but not as much as my country.
They wouldn’t, which is why I don’t exactly trust them. Too much integrity.
Me ? I’m a dishonest man, and a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It’s the honest ones you gotta watch for, because can never predict when they’re going to do something incredibly… stupid.
AHA! 99% of all politicians think they know better than Momma what ails their children!
I want to take a moment to congratulate all of the Dopers who are firmly ignoring this straight line. Commendable.
That would explain a lot about ACORN . . .
Related thread from 2004: Why are there so many freaking retards in the Republican party?
Some things don’t change.