Opinion Polls: Getting the results you want

Most researchers work pretty hard to frame things in a manner far more neutral than Sir Humphrey would have us believe. However my feeling is that lobby groups and their PR companies are the ones most likely to push for slanted surveys. I trust political polls (they get it amazingly right amazingly often) but surveys published by lobby groups need close inspection.

If Sir Humphrey ran for U.S. President, I would so totally vote for him. Living and citizenship requirements be damned!

Yes, results depend very much on how we researchers frame the questions. By and large our profession does a great job at asking things from a neutral stance.

The questions depend on who's commissioning the poll

There's a Kossack who used to have the sigline "you know journalism has hit a new low when the only political news above 8th-grade level is on Comedy Central."

That's a terrific comment, it's short, pithy and spot on accurate. I'll have to use it some time.

Because in comedy you're free to say anything, in the so-called 'reality' you have to say what's expected from you if you don't want to have any problems... ;)

This is quite a serious issue. This is why there are often rules stating that, e.g., medical companies have to publish all their tests, not just the positive ones. It's too easy to skew the results otherwise.

This is a British masterpiece.
The true essence of comedy is when the brutal truth comes up against the natural inclination for denial of what you casually know to be true in real life (but you dont want to believe = sanctuary).
Like DR. Strangelove for example which employs the same logic.
Kubricks initial idea was to make the movie as a drama but every time, it was coming out as a comedy (Kubrick interview)
Hail to British Comedy!!

@1911free - Hail to British comedy as it used to be. You simply wouldn't get such politically cynical comedy being commissioned on the BBC since Labour tied its hands behind its back.