pn555.. The Latest Colmar Brunton Poll 8 October, and some comments on polls

 Have you ever noticed, when percentages are used in the print media in reporting political polls, that they almost never add up. 

I think this is due to three practices: 

1. only some of the results are published, 

2. Don't know/Refused to Answer are seldom published or included in totals, and 

3. the effects of "rounding.  

This would not happen if the media used tables to show percentages, and  if Colmar-Brunton which conduct polls for 1News and Reid for Newshub immediately released the poll. Instead, they wait 48 hours after the media has published the results.  

 So, use tables.  They would show the complete results, and in most cases be easier to understand than the efforts of journalists to report them in text alone. Here's a topical example Note especially note 2.

Why is this Information Not Provided on All Polls? Let us make our own minds up on what they mean

pn415

Showing just the tip of the iceberg

 The results of two major polls were released last week but on almost all of the questions asked no information was provided on the relationship between respondent characteristics and their answers, and this detracted from their usefulness.