Comments on: New Wilderness Society poll is political, not statistical

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

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 04:11:37 +0000

[...] Its difficult to know what the purpose of this poll was. Was it a messaging test poll that got released because the results were “just too good” to keep a lid on? Was it a poll that EDF didn’t vet well enough to root out the biases I described above? Or was it an environmental push poll designed to give cover to politicians and activist organizations working in support of green jobs programs, renewable energy and power grid infrastructure upgrades, plug-in hybrid vehicles, and carbon emissions caps? Only EDF knows the answer to those questions, and I don’t suspect they’ll be forthcoming with the answers. But this poll is so biased, so close to a push poll, that it will ultimately do EDF no good at all and could very easily be used by EDF’s ideological and anti-environmental opponents against EDF. This poll is also a hit on EDF’s credibility, something that will make EDF’s stated goal of working with businesses, government and communities to create lasting solutions to the most serious environmental problems more difficult instead of less. This poll is in the same credibility-destroying league as a poll conducted by The Wilderness Society (and analyzed by me for similar problems) back in July. [...]

By: Brian Angliss

Brian Angliss — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 21:19:11 +0000

This one was hard for me, mostly because I really wanted the poll to be accurate. Thankfully the journalist in me overruled the “win at any cost” part that wanted to let it slide.

Some activists might say that a little deception here and there is justified by the necessity of winning one battle or another. Ends justifying the means and all that. But that argument only works if the means are the most effective course, in a pragmatic sense, to the ends, and deception of this variety is never effective. After all, if I can spot the fact that TWS’ poll is crap, so can TWS’ actual opponents.

We don’t need to lie to win. The deception will always be discovered eventually, and when it does, our credibility goes down the toilet. Better not to deceive in the first place. I hope that the people at TWS responsible for this poll read this post and learn that lesson.

By: Dr. Denny

Dr. Denny — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 16:00:43 +0000

Most analysts would have stopped with the dissection of the poll questions. You explaining how TWS is “interpreting” the poll results for public consumption.

Rarely do news media offer the precise poll questions in surveys they sponsor or promote. Without seeing the questions, readers are stuck with the spin.

Tip ‘o the hat, Brian.

By: Russ Wellen

Russ Wellen — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 04:48:40 +0000

Thanks for breaking that down, Brian.

By: Lex

Lex — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:24:01 +0000

Ew, lord, i’m glad that i don’t have enough of a pulse to alert the pollsters to my existence.

By: www.buzzflash.net

www.buzzflash.net — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 22:44:24 +0000

New Wilderness Society poll is political, not statistical…

The latest Wilderness Society poll on the views of Americans on opening up public lands and offshore areas to drilling is a biased mess of leading questions, not the statistical measurement of public opinion it claims to be….