Questions - Heart of All Polls
Although today's public opinion polls rest on a foundation of mathematical precision, they continue to be more art than science. The most difficult part of polling, it is widely agreed, comes in fashioning the questions to be asked. If the questions are bad, the survey results will be bad. No amount of tinkering with the sample can compensate for faulty questions. And the potential pitfalls with survey questions are legion.
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Wording
Red Flags
Avoiding problem questions
Types of questions
Doorstep opinions
Screening questions
Non-attitudes
Pretesting
Explanations
Response choices
Closed-ended vs. Open-ended Questions
Restricted choices
Intensity of feeling
Interpretation
Social acceptability
