The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #129116   Message #2902518
Posted By: Genie
08-May-10 - 01:42 AM
Thread Name: BS: 'Your papers, please' - for US citizens?
Subject: RE: BS: 'Your papers, please' - for US citizens?
Bill D, yes, many polls do sort of "pull" for one kind of answer or another by the way they are wording, but not all polls are equally slanted in that way.
It is possible to word a poll objectively or neutrally, or at least come close. And in general I think those done by nonpartisan, nonideological research organizations come closest.

What's important, though, is to look carefully at the questions asked and the respondent sampling methods used when trying to interpret what the results mean.

In the case of the Arizona law, I'd want to make sure those being polled clearly understood what the law allows and demands before asserting that most Americans "support the law."