The Issue
Sampling is the process in which poll conductors acquire participants that accurately represent the target population of people polled. Asher provides insight into which techniques do this correctly and which do not and how this affects public opinion.
Major Strength
A major strength of this writing is that Asher accounts for how changing technologies affect how we conduct polls and how this has caused skepticism towards the results of polls. The section on “Sampling Techniques for Telephone Interviewing – Then and Now” is a perfect example of this and how being aware of how the public is using technology can greatly affect whether or not you are collecting an accurate representation of your target demographic. Asher presents many different examples of how poll conductors are coping with the increased use of cell phones and how other factors may present challenges in conducting a telephone only poll.
Major Weakness
The major weakness of this chapter lies in how Asher presents us information on Total versus Actual Sample Size. I do not think that the point is clearly driven home to the reader in this section. In the example he uses he offers that it would be inaccurate to report just the findings of the last question, and I agree. However, I still find this reporting to be very misleading because I don’t think people reading this example would pick up on how this is good or bad ethics as far as polling and actual sample size is concerned. I’m still confused on this topic and this section isn’t fully developed.
Underlying Assumption
Sampling error, confidence levels, and size of the sample are impotent pieces of information to report in the results of a public opinion poll to increase the validity of the poll. Even with this information people will still be skeptical of the results because they don’t have the knowledge to understanding these techniques.
Provacative Questions
With it being harder and harder with the advancement of technology to reach certain demographics and the importance of public opinion polling do you think we will see legislation in government to require citizens to answer certain polls from certain organizations if contacted? Would this be a viable solution to the hardships of polling that we see with the increase in people not wanting to be reached over the phone and only responding online to surveys that they feel strongly about?