Polling and opinion research play a large role in policy decision-making, and for good reason.
Policy-makers and organisations – including universities – would be flying blind if they had no insight into what the people who would benefit (or suffer) as a consequence of their decisions thought.
Most polling is well intentioned. Some polls are accidentally of poor quality. Others are deliberately skewed to present information that suits the intentions of the survey writer.
Being able to spot good polls from bad is particularly important when it comes to student polling.
