Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : THE STARR REPORT -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: CO who wrote (988)	9/15/1998 4:27:00 PM
From: jlallen	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1533

yeah. And the pollster doesn't hang up on you when you tell them you are registered republican and likely to vote. JLA

To: CO who wrote (988)	9/15/1998 4:34:00 PM
From: Brad Bolen	Respond to of 1533

RE: Also I would think that on-line polling would be a more random way of polling. The people being polled are not people that are specifically selected to be called. Actually, that is exactly why they are not representative. However, I will leave it to someone else to explain the science of polling. From the MSNBC website: Do you approve of the job President Clinton is doing? Source Approve NBC 67% CBS 61% ABC News 59% Disapprove 30% 34% 39%

To: CO who wrote (988)	9/15/1998 5:48:00 PM
From: mrknowitall	Respond to of 1533

Cheryl - statistically, to achieve an acceptable margin of error, polling of the "standard" American citizen base only requires around 1,500 "interviews" - beyond that, the margin of error just doesn't get smaller enough to make a difference in the final results. This assumes, however, that the target profile is demographically broad enough to "rationally assume" average or communality, i.e., you really have to be selective about who you call - you don't just open the phone book. What this opens, however, is a can of worms that pollsters don't like to talk about - how they select who they call. It isn't as random as they would have you believe, and a good example of why it isn't is the MSNBC poll - it is way too heavily weighted in the upper middle class, self employed, computer literate categories and misses entirely those who do not have access. Frankly, I don't trust any of them. There is far too much room for advocacy.