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Course: AP??/College US Government and Politics?>?Unit 4
Lesson 6: Evaluating public opinion dataEvaluating public opinion data
Problem
Two market research firms conduct public opinion polls in the month before the city council votes on a proposed ordinance to issue fines to homeless individuals. Each firm uses a random-dialing system to contact 1000 city residents.
DynamicData’s survey asked: “Do you think homeless people should be issued a fine for making our city streets unsanitary?” 53% of respondents answered yes, 41% answered no, and 6% said they didn’t know.
Reardon Research’s survey asked: “Do you think homeless veterans should be punished for sleeping in the streets?” 23% of respondents answered yes, 68% of respondents answered no, and 10% said they didn’t know.
Which of the following most likely accounts for the different results?