Comments on: We Berate, You Deride – DemandDebate.com’s survey on the scientific consensus surrounding global heating

By: Scholars and Rogues » 31,478… 13,245… 152 OISM “scientists” can’t be wrong

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 23:29:41 +0000

[...] credibility fabricated for it by individuals and groups as diverse as Steve Milloy of Fox News (see this link for a S&R investigation into the background and tactics of Steve Milloy), L. Brent Bozell of [...]

By: Scholars and Rogues » New EDF poll statistically invalid due to biased questions

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 14:49:43 +0000

[...] and take away your SUV.” This EDF poll is just such an overreach, and while it’s not the worst poll I’ve ever seen, it’s bad enough that it will come back to bite them unless EDF does something to prevent [...]

By: Scholars and Rogues » ExxonMobile’s ironic ally: Steve Milloy

Scholars and Rogues » ExxonMobile’s ironic ally: Steve Milloy — Wed, 28 May 2008 02:58:16 +0000

[...] by the Free Enterprise Action Fund (FEAFund), a mutual fund founded and managed by none other than S&R’s own favorite purveyor of global heating propaganda, Steven J. [...]

By: Scholars and Rogues » 2005 Colorado public education survey not statistically valid

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 20:25:23 +0000

[...] there is a right way to gather statistical data, and there’s a wrong way. A few months ago, a survey that purported to question the consensus surrounding anthropogenic global heating illustrated, in egregious fashion, the wrong way. The “survey” asked poorly phrased and [...]

By: jc

jc — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:21:48 +0000

A quick statistical analysis of the sample of this study is revealing:

If the population size is 620, and the sample was only 54, then the margin of error would be +- 13% (assuming a 95% confidence level). This means that if the “true” value for a question is 60%, the reported value could be as little as 47% or as much as 73%. With this wide a variability, one can hardly make sense of the results.

A meaningful sample size, assuming a 5% margin of error and a 95% confidence level, would be 238.

And yes, it does appear that this survey suffers in a serious way from non-response error.

By: Brian Angliss

Brian Angliss — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 19:19:04 +0000

Savantster – I so wish you weren’t right, but when I was doing research for this post, I came across a massive echo chamber. I’d love to know how much of that is people paid to blog on specific topics and how much of it is real people, but either way, the survey’s results were all over the web. Mr. Milloy is very effective at manipulating people, unfortunately.

I just can’t sit back and let him, and the many others just like him, lie without being challenged. And maybe, just maybe, it’ll do some good.

By: Savantster

Savantster — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 18:31:39 +0000

The biggest problem is, 75% of our society has no clue what any of what you said means. They hear the “results” and don’t care how they were arrived at, they just regurgitate it to their friends while denouncing science as “so much voodoo”.

I can see them now, reading the first sentence of your post.. their eyes glazing over, drool starting to flow.. visions of Homer and his Doughnuts start drifting through their minds..

Good to know that they are a hack site, though.. Keeps me from having to bother trying to find out the details behind their lies… thanks for the info

By: Scholars and Rogues » We Berate, You Deride - A closer look at the background of Steven J. Milloy, executive director of DemandDebate.com

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 16:08:43 +0000

[...] that the survey was so crippled by bad methodology, poor question design, and selection biases that it could have only one purpose – anti-global heating propaganda. Today we turn our attention to Steven J. Milloy, DemandDebate.com’s executive director, [...]

By: JS OBrien

JS OBrien — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 20:20:17 +0000

Excellent! Like Dr. Slammy, I too spend a lot of time doing and interpreting surveys. You did an excellent job of summarizing the methodological problems.

Let me just reiterate something you’ve already said, though. The data are garbage. The confidence level doesn’t exist and can’t exist, since the sampling isn’t random. Same with margin of error. I understand why you went of on “IF there were a margin of error we can determine,” but I think it’s important to note that there isn’t.

Using similar methodology, Shere Hite “proved” that more than 70% of people were having sex at work.

If only it were true.

(And if it is true, what the hell is wrong with me? Am I chopped liver or something?)

By: Dr. Denny

Dr. Denny — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 17:59:54 +0000

As I tell my students, “seems” is a word that always means one of two things: “I’m guessing” or “I have no evidence.” DD.com ought to remember that.

Well done, sir.