Some problems associated with polling methods include sampling bias if the sample is not representative of the population, nonresponse bias if certain groups are less likely to respond, question wording bias if questions are leading or ambiguous, and margin of error that can impact the precision of the results.
George Gallup is often considered the father of modern polling. He is credited with developing scientific polling methods that are still widely used today, such as random sampling and question wording. Gallup's work in the 1930s helped popularize the use of polls to measure public opinion.
Before George Gallup, polling samples were often small and not scientifically selected, leading to biased or unreliable results. Gallup revolutionized polling by using rigorous sampling methods to ensure accurate representation of the population, making his polls more trustworthy and influential.
A polling company attempts to predict the outcome of a presidential election, but only contacts people who subscribe to major political journals.
In 1948, George Gallup learned the tough lesson that political polling was not infallible when he inaccurately predicted that Thomas Dewey would defeat Harry Truman in the presidential election. This mistake led to a reevaluation of polling methods to improve accuracy.
Straw vote polling is highly unreliable because nothing in the process ensures that those who respond will represent a reasonably accurate cross section of the total population.
Associated Problem Cases
Quantitative research is associated with positivist/postpositivist paradigm. Qualitative research is the approach usually associated with the social constructive paradigm. The pragmatic approach or mixed methods use methods which appear best suited to the research problem.
The polling booth was hacked during the elections.We need to be at the polling both by midday.
internet polling
polls, polling is a survey process
230 constituencies and 24,000 polling stations