What other kinds of mistakes can skew poll results?
The margin of sampling error is just one source of inaccuracy in a poll and not necessarily the greatest source of error: we use it because it’s the only one that can be quantified. Question phrasing and ordering are also a likely source of flaws. That’s why you need to examine poll questions for bias. You should always ask if the poll results have been “weighted.” This process is usually used to account for unequal probabilities of selection and to correct demographics in the sample. However, you should be aware that a poll can also be unduly manipulated by weighting to produce some desired result. And there are other possible sources of error. These include issues such as inadequate interviewer training and supervision, data processing errors, and other operational problems. Professional polling operations are less subject to these problems than volunteer-conducted polls, which are usually less trustworthy. 13. What questions were asked? You must find out the exact wording of the pol
