What are the odds of being Polled?

[TimG]

There have be maybe 50 polls in the last 6 weeks with an average of 1000 person/poll.

That makes 50,000 out of 20,000,000 households or %0.25 chance of being polled.

Yet, I have been called twice by different companies.

I am wondering what other people's experience is.

I am wondering how random these polling lists really are.

Edited April 29, 2011 by TimG

[RNG]

There have be maybe 50 polls in the last 6 weeks with an average of 1000 person/poll.

That makes 50,000 out of 20,000,000 households or %0.25 chance of being polled.

Yet, I have been called twice by different companies.

I am wondering what other people's experience is.

I am wondering how random these polling lists really are.

Some year ago I must have been bored because I agreed to be polled. It was the first time I had been called. And then all of a sudden I was getting called twice a month, and not just for political polls but they wanted to know my favorite laundry soap. So I quit taking the calls and after about three months they quit calling. Makes me wonder if they don't sell or exchange lists.

[guyser]

Depends on how much wine she drinks.

[TimG]

Depends on how much wine she drinks.

I know it is supposed to be a joke but I don't get it.

[Bonam]

There have be maybe 50 polls in the last 6 weeks with an average of 1000 person/poll.

That makes 50,000 out of 20,000,000 households or %0.25 chance of being polled.

Yet, I have been called twice by different companies.

Where did you get the 20 million households number from? For one, that would mean that there an average of only 1.5-1.7 people per household in Canada, which sounds low. Secondly, many households are not accessible to polling (no home phone, no home, auto-block calls except from known numbers, etc). Further, of the people who get called and pick up, probably a significant number don't go through with answering the questions, meaning the poller has to pick someone else. I think there are probably much less than 10 million unique callable numbers for polling, let alone 20 million. And once you take into account people not answering the questions, you probably have a more than 1% chance of being polled.

[guyser]

I know it is supposed to be a joke but I don't get it.

Seriously?

[KeyStone]

There have be maybe 50 polls in the last 6 weeks with an average of 1000 person/poll.

That makes 50,000 out of 20,000,000 households or %0.25 chance of being polled.

Yet, I have been called twice by different companies.

I am wondering what other people's experience is.

I am wondering how random these polling lists really are.

Polling is very inaccurate, because many people won't answer their phones if they don't recognize certain numbers - and it follows along age and income lines.

[RNG]

Polling is very inaccurate, because many people won't answer their phones if they don't recognize certain numbers - and it follows along age and income lines.

As I said in another thread, all poll results now should be prefaced with a statement along the lines of "of 1000 people who can't afford call display or are really bored or don't have a life, X% think yada, yada, yada."

Edited April 29, 2011 by RNG

[Smallc]

And yet, polls are generally, relatively accurate.

[Evening Star]

Depends on how much wine she drinks.

[RNG]

I think I get it now. This US political forum I visit I would have gotten that immediately, but we use bad words etc. on that one. This is about the first naughty I've seen on MLW.

Edited April 29, 2011 by RNG

[guyser]

This is about the first naughty I've seen on MLW.

Gotta love virgins !

[Mr.Canada]

I don't know. I was polled for the 2008 election a couple times but never for this one...yet I guess. I think you have to be in the book...not 100% on that.

[wyly]

There have be maybe 50 polls in the last 6 weeks with an average of 1000 person/poll.

That makes 50,000 out of 20,000,000 households or %0.25 chance of being polled.

Yet, I have been called twice by different companies.

I am wondering what other people's experience is.

I am wondering how random these polling lists really are.

I see the out of area codes (519)on display and don't bother to answer there has been more in recent weeks...I picked one up by mistake and it was an automated system, I forget which pollster is using the automated system(not nanos) but I hung up then too...

[wyly]

Polling is very inaccurate, because many people won't answer their phones if they don't recognize certain numbers - and it follows along age and income lines.

as well as rural or urban...then many are like my kids how all have phones but never actually call anyone only text...the only time one daughter ever speaks on the phone is if I or mrs wyly call as neither one of us texts, and she never answers unknown numbers... Edited April 29, 2011 by wyly