Opinion Poll Research Paper Examples

Political polls have been used in various parts of the world to acquire public opinion on politics. This is because polls are a valued to for any kind of survey or research. Polls are always designed to provide accurate and detailed report on a given issue in the public domain. However, several factors such as impartiality, prejudice, electorate knowledge and biases during the polling could easily affect the outcome of a political poll (Bardes and Oldendick p. 7-11). Take an example of the following Political poll questions:

Should the government censor speech?

How do you rate the current government’s performance?
Should there be laws concerning sex for consenting adults?
How likely are you to vote in the coming elections?
What is your political affiliation?
Should there be laws barring adults from possessing or using drugs?
Should private charity replace government welfare?
Which candidate would you vote for in the next general elections?
Do you approve the conduct of this parliament?
Electoral knowledge on politics and voting behavior are one of the major factors that must be factored when conduct an effective political poll (Bardes and Oldendick p. 21-25). Comprehending voters’ behavior normally helps surveyors to know how and why certain decisions were taken by the electorates or public opinion shapers. Political psychology argues that effective influence, for instance, may help the electorates to make a more informed choice in a poll. Theories such as the loss aversion by Amos Tyersky and Daniel Kahneman suggest that the electorate may vote when prioritizing impact on unfavorable policies rather than supporting favorable policy (Morey p. 11-19).
(Norman, Sudman and Wansink p.46-52) suggest that in order to evaluate a given political poll, one needs to as the following questions;( a) how does the poll equate to other assessments on the same subject in the region? (b) How does the poll compare to a previous survey by the same firm on the same? (c) How does the survey compare to surveys conducted by the same firm in other places? (d) How does the poll compare with popular or nationwide trend? (e) How does the poll compare to the historical trend (f) How does the survey compare to the electoral calendar? (g) How does the percentage of undecided voters relate to previous versions of the assessment?
In conclusion, the credibility of the firm conduction a particular poll and electorate knowledge are essential factors to consider when assessing poll results.

Work cited

Bardes, Barbara A, and Robert W. Oldendick. Public Opinion: Measuring the American Mind. Princeton: Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, 2006. Print.
Bradburn, Norman M., Seymour Sudman, and Brian Wansink. Asking questions: the definitive guide to questionnaire design--for market research, political polls, and social and health questionnaires. John Wiley & Sons, 2004.
Morey, Alyssa C. Memory for Positive, Negative, and Comparison Ads: Studying Semantic Associations between Candidates and Issues Using Eeg. N.P., 2013. Print.