The Issue: The ways in which questions are asked, the types of questions asked, and how people are polled all have significant effects on what the results to a poll may be. Sampling can also be performed in many ways, and it is generally skepticized by the public that polls (because of issues in sampling) do not portray accurate representations of populations.
Major Strength: As far as the polling chapter is concerned, I thought Asher used the appropriate statistics to get his point across. I found the NSA example staggering. The discrepancy in results from one test to the other (with the question worded differently and conducted a day or two apart) really sold me on his ideas.
Major Weakness: As with most of this type of writing, I find Asher to be somewhat presumptuous, at times. The Gallup poll on homosexuality is a good example. He speaks in maybes and possibilities when justifying the poll’s results. He has greater hold of my attention when he delivers explicit reasoning and isn’t so speculative.
Underlying Assumption: Issues of question wording and context have more of a significant impact on poll results when dealing with topics for which those polled have less information. Asher’s first two examples from our reading were spot on. In each, the way the question is worded leads the poller to feel a certain way about the subject, such as the negative connotation for George W. Bush’s tax cut implementations as President. Asher also touches on an idea we lightly covered in class: that news outlets offer poll results without validating the polls or giving the consumer any sort of context. As a proponent of sampling, Asher also believes that it is an appropriate practice that represents a population well.
Provocative Questions: What is the future of polling? Is an online alternative plausible? After all, over 80 percent of homes have Internet access, compared to the current 70ish percent that have landline phones (that go unused in a certain amount of those homes). In what ways does spacing between poll questions effect results?