social research methods
I need one paragraph
We are going to have a “worst question” competition! Search on news sites, in magazines, newspapers, etc. to find a question that you feel violates many of the rules discussed in this until for quality survey design or writing quality questions. Discuss what is wrong with the question. Discuss the underlying intent of the question in why it may be written so poorly–essentially does someone gain by asking the question in such a poorly constucted manner? Finally, fix the question–in essence rewrite the question so that it follows the rules of good survey questions.
Be sure to provide the citation of where the question was found.
For Example
On my search for poor survey questions, I discovered an article published by ABC News, titled “Coronavirus impacts: Disrupted lives, elevated stress, and soaring worry: Poll†(Langer, 2020). In this article, the author reveals all of the questions given to the participants, which include one that stood out; that of the approval ratings of Donald Trump in regards to how he has handled the COVID-19 pandemic. The study shows that 51% approved of his methods, 45% did not approve, and 4% were indifferent. This makes it look like the majority of people agree with his methods, when in reality, the research was only conducted among 1,003 people, and that information is not revealed until the end of the article (a spot in which many people may not have already stopped reading). This seems deceptive and misleading due to the fact that ABC is a main news source for many and it would seem as though they should have made the survey more accessible to a greater volume of people, thus giving more accurate results. Also, the question itself of how Trump has handled COVID-19, seems as though it was worded in a way that appeals to a more conservative group of people and in the article, it says “Some of this relates to the demographics of the affected states, and some reflect greater levels of apprehension among Trump’s critics. Nonetheless, the results suggest that as the crisis deepens, the risks to views of his performance likely rise.†(Langer, 2020) alluding to the fact that the author may have had some previous bias, thus the survey questions, reflect that fact.
The question should be posed to a greater audience and should be written as, “Do you approve of the president’s response to COVID-19?â€
References
Langer, Gary. (2020) Coronavirus impacts: Disrupted lives, elevated stress, and soaring worry: Poll. ABC News.
