Has anyone on here actually taken part in a political opinion poll conducted by one of the big polling companies? Average number claimed to have polled is around 1000 per survey and there are at least two a week so it would stand to reason that over time most people would either have been surveyed or know someone who has. Personally I’ve never taken part in one or know anyone who has
Running on from the thread on Brexit where Hkoss claims that according to opinion polls should there be another referendum remain will win due to those who voted leave dying how credible are these polls? In the referendum and the last general election the polls were massively wrong and not for the first time. On the European referendum my immediate family voted as follows:
My parents 81 and 75 remain
Myself 53 leave
My partner 51 remain
My son 22 leave
That is totally at odds with what the opinion polls are currently telling us and if Hkoss gets his way and there is a cull of pensioners he has just lost two remain votes
If you’ve not signed up to take part, they won’t be asking you to give your opinion…
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Roymondo:
If you’ve not signed up to take part, they won’t be asking you to give your opinion…
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In which case why are they given so much prominence when they are asking the same self selected group?
Mazzer2:
Roymondo:
If you’ve not signed up to take part, they won’t be asking you to give your opinion…
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In which case why are they given so much prominence when they are asking the same self selected group?
This is YouGov a commercial company:
yougov.co.uk/about/panel-methodology/
From other sources it seems that making random (?) stops in the street, or phoning random numbers doesnt easily give a good sample? Do you ask shoppers outside Aldi or Waitrose? Will some busy people refuse to answer phone to unknown numbers? Will sceptics on hearing "Im conducting a survey" assume it`s a selling scam?
Difficult subject.
Mazzer2:
Roymondo:
If you’ve not signed up to take part, they won’t be asking you to give your opinion…
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In which case why are they given so much prominence when they are asking the same self selected group?
Because it’s the best option they have?
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I have never been surveyed in the street or done Jury Service! I’m 60 and voted leave now.
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Never been asked, like you Mazzer and about 17 million others, we’d give the wrong answer so not going to be asked.
The commercial survey companies are able to massage the survey to provide the result required by the client (they are after all a business which will tell the client what they want to hear), because they already know the likely opinion provided by users who have answered previous surveys of various natures, not opinion polls as such.
Since they all got it wrong by such a massive amount about the Brexit referendum, the last general election and especially Donald Trump’s election to President, they have in the eyes of those capable of independent thought lost any credibility they might once have had, just as the state broadcaster (bbc) and the mainstream media have and in whose interests such misleading survey results provide some form of endorsement of their opinion (as against news) pieces.
I’m just surprised that the survey industry is still in business discredited laughably as they are, but then its all about propaganda, maybe the right survey result even one that is the complete opposite of reality and the truth (RIP) is considered good value by the client 
Juddian:
Never been asked, like you Mazzer and about 17 million others, we’d give the wrong answer so not going to be asked.
The commercial survey companies are able to massage the survey to provide the result required by the client (they are after all a business which will tell the client what they want to hear), because they already know the likely opinion provided by users who have answered previous surveys of various natures, not opinion polls as such.
Since they all got it wrong by such a massive amount about the Brexit referendum, the last general election and especially Donald Trump’s election to President, they have in the eyes of those capable of independent thought lost any credibility they might once have had, just as the state broadcaster (bbc) and the mainstream media have and in whose interests such misleading survey results provide some form of endorsement of their opinion (as against news) pieces.
I’m just surprised that the survey industry is still in business discredited laughably as they are, but then its all about propaganda, maybe the right survey result even one that is the complete opposite of reality and the truth (RIP) is considered good value by the client
Agree that they have been discredited due to their recent inaccuracies yet it is amazing how all the MSM outlets still take them as gospel, on Radio5 this morning a Labour MP said in her constituency there has been no change of peoples minds towards Brexit and she as a remain voter believed that a second referendum would produce the same result as the first one and that a second referendum was a non starter yet according to opinion polls the country is clamouring for it. Yet talking to most people I know be they remain or leave all they want is for politicians to get on with it and get a good deal when we leave.
Happened to me once. On a rare day off I’d ventured into town to meet some friends for a coffee. As I was walking past boots the chemist I saw a woman with a clipboard randomly approach some woman and tell her she was doing a survey. Because I was a little early I thought I’d do it too. So, i waited for the woman to finish and walked past the surveyor. She ignored me completely and collared some pam pushing chav.
Not put off, again I waited until they’d finished and walked past again. Again I was ignored whilst she bothered some middle aged office type woman.
Not happy with this I waited for them to finish and approached the surveyor. “Look” I said, “you’ve ignored me twice in favour of women, if you’re only going to interview women it’ll skew your results”
“Ok” she said, “I’ll interview you if you dont mind sir”
“Could you tell me which feminine hygiene products you prefer and why!”