Voodoo poll
Encyclopedia
An open access poll is a type of opinion poll
in which participants are self-selected
. The term includes call-in, mail-in, and some online polls.
The most common examples of open access polls ask people to phone a number, click a voting option on a website
, or return a coupon
cut from a newspaper
. By contrast, professional polling companies use a variety of techniques to attempt to ensure that the polls they conduct are representative, reliable and scientific. The most glaring difference between an open access poll and a legitimate poll is that open access polls have self-selected participants, while scientific polls typically randomly select their samples (occasionally on the street or at the door, but much more commonly by telephone or on the internet) and weight them to make them representative. See Opinion Poll
for more information.
, such polls represent the most interested individuals, just as in voting. In the case of political polls, such participants might be more likely voters, and elections are won by those that show up.
, open access polls may not have participants that represent the larger population. As a consequence, the results of the poll cannot be generalized, but are only valid for the participants of the poll.
Proponents of scientific online polling state that in practice their results are no less reliable than traditional polls, and that the problems faced by traditional polling, such as inadequate data for quota design and poor response rates for phone polls, can also lead to systemic bias
. Some others express the hope that careful choice of a panel of possible respondents may allow online polling to become a useful tool of analysis, but feel that this is rarely the case.
, will be unrepresentative of the target population, and is often very easy to rig by those with a partisan
interest in the results of the poll.
The term was coined by Sir Robert Worcester
, founder of legitimate polling company MORI
, which he chaired for 36 years to June 2005, with special reference to "phone-in" polls. He used the term in British newspaper
The Independent
on July 23, 1995 to show how easy it was to rig a phone-in poll by voting nine times. The term is still used to refer to unscientific, unrepresentative and unreliable polls.
Opinion poll
An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...
in which participants are self-selected
Self-selection
In statistics, self-selection bias arises in any situation in which individuals select themselves into a group, causing a biased sample with nonprobability sampling...
. The term includes call-in, mail-in, and some online polls.
The most common examples of open access polls ask people to phone a number, click a voting option on a website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
, or return a coupon
Coupon
In marketing, a coupon is a ticket or document that can be exchanged for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product. Customarily, coupons are issued by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods or by retailers, to be used in retail stores as a part of sales promotions...
cut from a newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
. By contrast, professional polling companies use a variety of techniques to attempt to ensure that the polls they conduct are representative, reliable and scientific. The most glaring difference between an open access poll and a legitimate poll is that open access polls have self-selected participants, while scientific polls typically randomly select their samples (occasionally on the street or at the door, but much more commonly by telephone or on the internet) and weight them to make them representative. See Opinion Poll
Opinion poll
An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...
for more information.
Advantages
Since participants in an open access poll are volunteers rather than a random sampleRandom sample
In statistics, a sample is a subject chosen from a population for investigation; a random sample is one chosen by a method involving an unpredictable component...
, such polls represent the most interested individuals, just as in voting. In the case of political polls, such participants might be more likely voters, and elections are won by those that show up.
Disadvantages
Due to selection biasSelection bias
Selection bias is a statistical bias in which there is an error in choosing the individuals or groups to take part in a scientific study. It is sometimes referred to as the selection effect. The term "selection bias" most often refers to the distortion of a statistical analysis, resulting from the...
, open access polls may not have participants that represent the larger population. As a consequence, the results of the poll cannot be generalized, but are only valid for the participants of the poll.
Online poll
An online poll is a survey in which participants communicate responses via the Internet, typically by completing a questionnaire in a web page. Online polls may allow anyone to participate, or they may be restricted to a sample drawn from a larger panel. The use of online panels has become increasingly popular and is now the single biggest research method in Australia.Proponents of scientific online polling state that in practice their results are no less reliable than traditional polls, and that the problems faced by traditional polling, such as inadequate data for quota design and poor response rates for phone polls, can also lead to systemic bias
Systemic bias
Systemic bias is the inherent tendency of a process to favor particular outcomes. The term is a neologism that generally refers to human systems; the analogous problem in non-human systems is often called systematic bias, and leads to systematic error in measurements or estimates.-Bias in...
. Some others express the hope that careful choice of a panel of possible respondents may allow online polling to become a useful tool of analysis, but feel that this is rarely the case.
Voodoo poll
A voodoo poll (or pseudo-poll) is a pejorative description of an opinion poll with no statistical or scientific reliability, which is therefore not a good indicator of opinion on an issue. A voodoo poll will tend to involve self-selectionSelf-selection
In statistics, self-selection bias arises in any situation in which individuals select themselves into a group, causing a biased sample with nonprobability sampling...
, will be unrepresentative of the target population, and is often very easy to rig by those with a partisan
Partisan (political)
In politics, a partisan is a committed member of a political party. In multi-party systems, the term is widely understood to carry a negative connotation - referring to those who wholly support their party's policies and are perhaps even reluctant to acknowledge correctness on the part of their...
interest in the results of the poll.
The term was coined by Sir Robert Worcester
Robert Worcester
Sir Robert Milton Worcester, KBE, DL is the founder of MORI and a member and contributor to many voluntary organisations. He is a well known figure in British public opinion research and political circles and as a media commentator, especially about voting intentions in British and American...
, founder of legitimate polling company MORI
MORI
Ipsos MORI is the second largest market research organisation in the United Kingdom, formed by a merger of Ipsos UK and MORI, two of the Britain's leading survey companies in October 2005...
, which he chaired for 36 years to June 2005, with special reference to "phone-in" polls. He used the term in British newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
on July 23, 1995 to show how easy it was to rig a phone-in poll by voting nine times. The term is still used to refer to unscientific, unrepresentative and unreliable polls.
External links
- www.doubletongued.org's source for attributing "voodoo poll" definition to Sir Bob Worcester
- Uses of "voodoo poll" in the media over past 15 years
- Example of a voodoo poll on public opinion on proposed anti-terror legislation in Britain on BBC Website
- http://www.education.edean.org/pdf/Tool039.pdf Reference to voodoo poll in academic article, page 11 of 31