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Editorial: Sign Thefts - Fear of the Opposition?
October 14th, 2004

Editorial: Police Arrested a Person
October 7th, 2004

Editorial: Korean Cloud on the Horizon
September 14th, 2004

Editorial: Moratorium Battle Heats Up
August 30th, 2004

Editorial: Orders From the Top
August 12th, 2004

Editorial: On the Value of Art
July 14th, 2004

Editorial: Of Voles and Men
June 24th, 2004

Editorial: Clam Poaching, are We Number One?
June 4th, 2004

Editorial: Leadership Overcomes Flawed Process in Missile Range Decision
May 10th, 2004

Editorial: Bomb Range Inn
April 25th, 2004

Editorial: Is the President Above the Law?
April 8th, 2004

Editorial: The "Good Old Days"
March 15th, 2004

Editorial: Access to Public Records
March 1st, 2004

Editorial: Sunset Park: A Reality?
February 23rd, 2004

Editorial: The "Tree Ordinance"
February 9th, 2004

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Poll Results: Fact, Fiction, or Propaganda?

Poll Results: Fact, Fiction, or Propaganda?

Editor

November 2002 is past, but publishing the results of polls continues. Last week the local print newspaper was responsible for publication of a poll that asked "Do you feel that the Cedar Key Police are doing a good job of enforcing the law?" The results were 65 percent answering "Yes", and 35 percent answering "No".

When presented with polling results the reader might well ask a few questions. Reputable pollsters disclose the margin of error and how many people answered the question. For a poll to be valid, a spectrum of the population must be questioned. Ideally, the wording of the question should not prompt a particular answer.

If a pollster asked twenty Corvette owners to name the best make of car, the results would be predictable. If Fidel Castro polled one hundred Cubans on his place in history, the results would be predictable.

The next time the results of a poll are presented, the following questions should apply:

1. How many people answered the question?

2. Was the question a straight question?

3. Who asked the question?

4. Why was the question asked?

5. Do you expect the pollster to be fair?

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