tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2559260500579382213.post3429921480913960297..comments2024-03-23T13:18:17.693-05:00Comments on Anybody Want A Peanut?: FASD and reading pollscherenkovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15355986781478585611noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2559260500579382213.post-63323450269978000482011-03-05T10:25:10.855-06:002011-03-05T10:25:10.855-06:00You raise a good point about an issue which has ne...You raise a good point about an issue which has never been resolved in the polling industry: should people be encouraged to express doubt?<br /><br />From childhood on, we are taught that doubt is a bad thing. Witness a politician give "I don't know" as the answer, and watch him/her be attacked for being weak and indecisive. Express an "I don't know" on the existence of God and risk the wrath of both the strongly religious and the strongly atheist. Tell a Customs officer that you "don't know" what the answer to a question is and risk being accused of being evasive.<br /><br />Undoubtedly, these lessons influence polling. Ask a sufficiently large random sample of people a question, and you will usually get an answer quite close to what you would have received if you asked absolutely everybody -- but with those doubts still suppressed.<br /><br />If people are reassured that it's okay to express doubt, however, and you might get a different response all around.<br /><br />There will still be debate for years to come over whether it's a good thing or a bad thing to encourage people to express doubt. Encouraging people to express doubt could provide a more accurate description of what's going on in people's minds -- we experience enough confusion over simple things such as what to make for dinner, never mind more complicated issues -- but could also mean losing valuable information about people's leanings and guesses.<br /><br />Which way is better when measuring public opinion -- with or without the "doubt option"? I don't know.<br /><br />But I suspect our world might be a better place if we were all made to feel more comfortable about saying "I don't know" out loud.The View from Sevenhttp://theviewfromseven.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.com