Poll: polls

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Bill Highsmith, Apr 25, 2002.

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Are small polls useful or scientific :)

Poll closed Apr 29, 2002.
  1. The polls are not useful

    5 vote(s)
    15.2%
  2. The polls are not scientific

    11 vote(s)
    33.3%
  3. I do not fail to disagree w/ neither 1 nor 2

    17 vote(s)
    51.5%
  1. Bill Highsmith

    Bill Highsmith New Member

    Are polls on a BB viewed by a couple of hundred people useful or scientific?
     
  2. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    Owww! You made me pop a neuron!
     
  3. Mike Albrecht

    Mike Albrecht New Member

    Or in the words of my wifes granny: "They don't make me no never mind":confused:
     
  4. cdhale

    cdhale Member

    Now this is a poll that means something :D

    clint
     
  5. dlkereluk

    dlkereluk New Member

    They are useful to me to gauge general opinions of members of this forum. In terms of being empirically valid, I doubt that they would be considered as such, because they are not done in a random-blind fashion that is statistically representative of the population being sampled (polled).


    Darren.
     
  6. rinri

    rinri New Member

    Losing the only brain cell I have left...

    Help me understand the option "I do not fail to disagree w/ neither 1 nor 2." ":confused:

    Hmm, maybe there's a simple mathematical solution:
    (-1) + (-1) + (-1) + (-1) + (-1) = negative (I think?!?), so if I chose this as my answer it would be the equivalent of an affirmative "no" which is not really a non-affirmative "yes," although it may appear so. :D

    Don't get me wrong, I like polls. Just the options bewildering to me sometimes.
     
  7. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    Huh? :confused: < scratches head >
     
  8. PaulC

    PaulC Member

    Arrhhggg!!! I HATE POLLS!!!! I HATE POLLS!!!! I HATE POLLS!!!! I HATE POLLS!!!! I HATE POLLS!!!! I HATE POLLS!!!! I HATE POLLS!!!! I HATE POLLS!!!! I HATE POLLS!!!! I HATE POLLS!!!! I HATE POLLS!!!! I HATE POLLS!!!!

    Of the myriad of ways that the web facilitates a complete and total waste of bandwidth and rational thought, usenet/discussion forum polls must surely lead the pack.

    Let's see MaryAnn or Ginger, uh, Vanilla or Chocolate, um, Back Steet Boys or Nsync, this school or that school, like your job or hate your job...and on and on...

    All the same with equally meaningless results. However, if your 13 and giggle a lot, they are ever so neat.

    Now, forward this to 5 friends and you will receive an autographed picture from Justin Timberlake. If you don't forward this on to 5 of your bestest friends, all your CDs will skip on the good songs.
     
  9. cdhale

    cdhale Member

    Aw man, I thought the taco bell dog was going to fight Ronald McDonald.....

    :D

    clint
     
  10. merc

    merc New Member

    I like the polls. They are useful sometimes, but mainly just a fun diversion.
     
  11. PaulC

    PaulC Member

    Merc, with all due respect, just how are discussion group Polls "sometimes" useful. What question or under what circumstances would the response from a discussion group poll be of use to you?
     
  12. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    Disagreement is the Spice of Life

    The polls are as useful as the bantering that goes back and forth on this forum. They spice up the conversation.

    Since the polls on this forum are geared towards educational questions, I am usually interested in them. However, I am bored by polls such as:
    • What do you like better:
    • The Music of the Spice Girls or
    • The Music of the Back Street Boys
    • Yadda Yadda Yadda
    Most forums are boring. This forum is most definately an exception, won't you agree? The quality of the postings are far above those on other forums. And while the polls at DegreeInfo.com may not be the best in the world, they are certainly better than other polls on other forums.

    I doubt you'll find much disagreement on this, eh? :eek:
     
  13. Tom Head

    Tom Head New Member

    I think they're entertaining and give us a pretty good idea of the mindset of the average Degreeinfo participant; but that's probably about as far as it stretches.


    Cheers,
     
  14. merc

    merc New Member

    The polls are sometimes useful when they profide insight into what I am thinking about. I do not rely entirely on the poll data, but it lets me know what others seem to think. I would find more useful the follow up posts. Polls are also useful in breaking the ice on a subject, providing oppourtunity for fun, and giving me something to read at three in the morning.
     
  15. Bill Highsmith

    Bill Highsmith New Member

    Maybe I could have worded the third option a little better. I'll try again:

    1) The polls are not usefull

    2) The polls are not scientific

    3) Of the above, not just 1, not just 2, not neither, but both I don't disagree with.
     
  16. Bill Highsmith

    Bill Highsmith New Member

    Oops, I failed not to reverse the meaning. Oh, well, it was a joke, anyway. I can spell usefull a lot better than that, too.
     
  17. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Re: Re: Poll: polls

    A key to randomness is that every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected for the sample, and that the members of the population cannot increase or decrease their chances. This is obviously not the case with online and call-in polls. That's why they come with disclaimers to that effect.

    I agree that they have limited usage as described above.
     
  18. David Appleyard

    David Appleyard New Member

    Polls are neither useful or useless. They provide the polltaker with a clear and concise opinion of only those that choose to respond to the subject. In other words, those who do not feel strongly about the question, simply do not respond or take part in the polling. Therefore, they represent a majority of the minority.

    I say that we at Degreeinfo should start something new. All further polls posted here should include the traditional selection of "yes", "no" and "maybe" followed by a brief essay to be graded by the acedemia of a "less-than-wonderful" institution.

    And who knows, if we do really well on the essay part, we might all be able to earn our PhD's together. Of course, this will only be after we send them a check.:D
     
  19. Pete

    Pete New Member

    Mark Twain said:

    "There are three kinds of lies --- lies, damn lies and statistics."

    In addition to the challenge of selecting representative sample populations, poll questions posed create false dilemma's ... yes/no/maybe questions may obviate this provided the question is simple and uncontroversial ... "Do you like ice cream?"

    Pete
     
  20. Bill Highsmith

    Bill Highsmith New Member

    Re: Mark Twain said:

    Of course my poll question was a joke, but yours might confuse some who would say, "I like vanilla ice cream if it is sugar free, but sugared vanilla ice cream sends me into a diebetic coma. Strawberry ice cream sends me into an allergic coma. So, to answer your question, "yes and no."
     

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