Pupil Poll Statistics In Your World 
Student Notes
Teachers Notes
Who Asks Whom about What?
 
How to Find Out
 

Opinion Polls

Who Asks Whom About What?
The police may want to investigate opinions on speed limits. Planners may want to ask residents about road plans. To do this they question the relevant people. This is called an OPINION POLL.

The English Tourist Board wanted to find out about people's holiday intentions. They questioned adults in an opinion poll.

Table 3 on page R1 gives a list of opinion polls.

  1. For each poll, write down in column 2 a group who might want information from the poll. Choose from this list:
    • Department of Industry
    • Ministry of Agriculture Food and Fisheries
    • Doctors
    • Consumers' Association
  2. Write in column 3 whom they might ask. Choose from this list:
    • Farmers
    • Mothers
    • Adults
    • Drivers

 

How to Find Out
The Consumers' Association said: 'Over the years, British cars have built up a reputation for poor reliability. Is the reputation justified? Or is the poor reliability of only one or two makes a slur on all?'
(Motoring Which?, January 1978).

To find out the answers, the Consumers' Association has to question drivers. It is impossible to question all drivers, so they ask a smaller number, a SAMPLE Of drivers.

All the drivers make up the POPULATION whose opinion is wanted. A sample is a smaller group chosen from the population.

Before carrying out such a poll, you have to answer these questions:

What do you want to find out?
What questions will you ask?
Whom should you ask?
How many people will you ask?
How will you select the people to ask?

Suppose your school is going to set up a library of record albums for pupils to borrow.

  1. Why might the school want to start such a library?

You have been asked to conduct an opinion poll to find out which albums pupils like.

  1. Discuss the five questions above.

You will find out the answers as you progress through the unit.

 

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