Posts Tagged ‘Public Polls’
Thursday, December 17th, 2009
Bad pollsters give the market research industry a bad name, so it is encouraging when smart people figure out clever ways of ratting them out. What is a bad pollster? One who makes up data to support an agenda, or who asks biased questions to get preferred answers. The only good reason for doing research or public opinion polling is to learn or share something new. All else is suspect.
Two researchers recently came up with methods of testing whether polling data is legitimate in a case where a research firm is accused of falsifying publicly released data. (more…)
Tags: bias, data quality, ethics, mathematics, Public Polls, statistics, trust
Posted in Future Trends, Public Polls, Public Relations | No Comments »
Friday, November 20th, 2009
Five of Chicago’s PR leaders gathered at a PRSA forum this week to discuss current trends and the future of public relations. The discussion was striking in how fully it echoed the trends and challenges facing the polling and research industry, and what we need to do to keep our eye on the ball. Here are a few take-away ideas from that forum that apply to both PR professionals and their research partners: (more…)
Tags: communication, data, insight, journalism, media, Public Polls, Public Relations, research, stories, survey, value
Posted in Future Trends, Presenting Research, Public Relations, Turning Data into Stories, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Thursday, November 5th, 2009
In a recent blog post entitled Data-Driven Journalism, Walker Sands, a Chicago PR agency, outlined two ways to get media placement for your company or your client with research. The premise is that journalists and readers are hungry for interesting stories, and in today’s data-driven world some of the most interesting stories come from – of all places – statistics. Ken Gaebler, founder of the agency, notes that there are two effective approaches. In his words, “You can mine data or you can make data.” (more…)
Tags: data, journalism, media, news, public opinion, Public Polls, Public Relations, research, statistics, stories, survey
Posted in Public Polls, Public Relations, Turning Data into Stories | No Comments »
Thursday, October 15th, 2009
Versta Research fields omnibus surveys, and we often recommend such surveys for our clients. But omnibus surveys do no not always save money or offer the insights that are needed, and so we often recommend inexpensive alternatives as well. (more…)
Tags: Data Collection, Internet, Market Research, omnibus, Online Surveys, Public Polls, value
Posted in Data Collection, Online Surveys, Public Polls, Public Relations | No Comments »
Monday, September 14th, 2009
Market researchers complain a lot when they get data back from surveys and see that people have been “speeding” through their surveys or that people are not giving thoughtful responses.
But the problem is rarely “bad respondents” – instead the problem is lazy researchers. When people discover that the survey they just agreed to take is boring, tedious, repetitive, or too long, they either quit altogether or they stop providing good answers.
(more…)
Tags: Data Collection, data quality, Market Research, online, Online Surveys, Public Polls, research, survey, Survey Design, survey respondents
Posted in Data Collection, Market Research, Methods & Tools, Online Surveys, Public Polls, Survey Design, Survey Tips, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009
Mistakes to Avoid when Conducting a Public Relations Survey
Surveys and polls can be powerful tools to understand what people are thinking and doing, and they can provide good data for public relations efforts and community outreach. Unfortunately they can also be gimmicks, which erodes trust in polling and in the organizations sponsoring them.
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Tags: bias, census, population, public opinion, Public Polls, Public Relations, Sampling, trust
Posted in Public Polls, Public Relations, Sampling | 1 Comment »