Question Wording

The results of a poll can be strongly guided or anticipated with specific wording of questions. The wording of these questions can potentially confuse a person taking the poll in hopes of guiding them towards a certain agenda. Pollsters do this by using leading questions, ambigious or unclear questions, double negatives, jargon, or confusing or big words not everyone easily understands, double-barreled questions which aim to answer two questions with one answer, as well as overlapping or inadequate response alternatives. I recently found a poll that has completely different results than my main poll. This could be in part to the targeted audience or the way in which the questions were worded. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/march_2009/79_support_u_s_troops_on_the_border_to_fight_drug_violence This poll shows that there is overwhelming support for the military to become an active part in the security of our border. According to the poll 79% of American voters beleive it would be appropriate. This has made a staggering 21% jump in only two months. The reason for this rise in support is the continious drug smuggling and violence that comes along with it. 90% of republicans beleive security should be enforced, as well as, 72% of democrats which is a very large jump compared to my original poll. The poll asked questions like if people were scared that the drug violence would spill over into the United States. This kinda of wording is somewhat like the problem of question sequencing. It wouldbe unlikely for anyone to say that they would want to see Mexican violence move into the United States. Another reason this poll might be so different than my original is that instead of searching for immigration i searced border security. These words probably reached an entirely different audience with entirely different views. This shows how important the wording of not only the questions in the poll but also the title of the poll itslef. Wording of everything can have a drastic impact on the results of a poll. Resulting in what is not actually public opinion.