Thread: Strange poll question and even stranger results

This comes down to the old, "When did you stop beating your wife?" line of questions. Take some quizes, just made for fun quizes, on someplace like Facebook, and you will want a "None of the above" option for at least 20% of the questions! Oft times, for me, it reaches 80% that I want NOTA!

Rego, I am trying to remember a uni class I took about a hundred years ago. Isn't there some sort of "tree" matrix that is supposed to be used when constructing a poll of this sort?

Quote: Originally Posted by JoW They don't define "in your community". Would the stuff I do with the Society of Women Engineers count? How about the stuff I buy for the privately-run homeless charity? I'd count the things you do, Jo. I admire you for doing them.

Quote: Originally Posted by MarblesLongGone It really depends on how YOU define community, whether it is the people with whom you congregate, in which case, JoW's things count as in her community, the tech community, or whether you define community by geographical boundaries. Thats part of the problem with the poll. Different people will define "community in different ways. The poll was not written well.

As a person who works in market research and is writing questions frequently, that is a "loaded" question. They should break it down and ask first who HAS volunteered and then ask who intends to volunteer in the future. People who really have volunteered tells you a lot more because so many people can say "sure, I'll probably volunteer in the future and answer "yes." It doesn't mean...

Too many variables in the question. I agree that someone had an agenda.

That doesn't make any sense. They can't possible come to any valid conclusions with that question and the choices. That means that they do not want a clear and valid conclusion, but one they can use to prove whatever point they are planning on making.