The New York Times’ recent brand and marketing campaign is all about Truth. Well, if Truth really matters, then they desperately need a good old fashioned survey to back their flimsy claims in a recent article about how small business owners view the candidates running for president. In a front-page article of the business section…
Here is a sly little test I recommend giving the next researcher who offers up their help on your next quantitative survey. Ask if they have ever used a DIY survey tool, and what advice they would give you about sample size based on this selection tool you looked at from one of the largest…
If you conduct a well-designed, well-executed survey of 500 people you probably think (and yes, we may have told you) that your margin of error is ±4%. It’s beautiful. It’s all based on math. And if you ever had that “aha” moment in statistics class, you probably agree that the mathematical proof of it is…
There are no magic numbers for sample size. There is no such thing as a statistically significant sample. Unfortunately, those two words—statistically significant—are bandied about with such abandon that they are quickly losing their meaning. Even people who should know better (the data wonks at Google Surveys should know better, right?) are saying ridiculous things…
Whenever you see those “margin of error” statements on political polls and other published surveys (even in market research industry publications, unfortunately!) take them with a grain of salt. They reflect only one type of potential error in surveys: namely, sampling error associated with sample size. Chances are that the “real” margin of error (if…
You would think that the chancellor of a prestigious school like M.I.T.—a university that prides itself on practical applications of mathematics—would know something about how probabilities work with survey sampling. Apparently not. Quoting a New York Times article about M.I.T.’s survey of students about sexual assault on campus:
Readers of this newsletter and blog know how much we value and respect the New York Times. It is one of the few resources we cite regularly, as it always has relevant, authoritative information that informs our work and that of our clients. So my heart sank when I read this description of a new…
Every year I enjoy getting an invitation to participate in Bon Appétit’s “most important survey of the year” because it provides so many good lessons for survey research. This year it has me thinking about the absurd e-mail subject line that says: “We need your help to get 100% participation.” Bon Appétit has 1,442,388 subscribers. …