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Viewpoints

Info on Hays Surveys
By Anita Hales

 

April 24, 2007
Tuesday PM


There's been some questions flying around about the recent survey by the Hays group in Anchorage that showed 71% of Alaskans opposed to road building on Gravina.

Here's what it says on the Hays website about their surveys:

"Every month Hays Research Group conducts an omnibus statewide survey called 'Opinion Counts'. We extend an invitation to our clients to purchase individual questions in the survey at a minimal cost. Each question purchased by a client costs that client $350 ....the resulting data for that client s question belongs to the client only and will not be released to any other entity without the express written permission of the client."

So somebody wrote the question, paid to have it in the survey and gave permission to have the data released.
406 Alaskans were polled in this survey which included several other questions.

It's really hard to give much weight to a survey of such a small percentage of people.

The media has predictably gone flying with headlines about the results. But people should be very careful before they get all excited about a survey like this.

If you look carefully at the question, it's loaded to get a predictable result. Somebody wrote this knowing how to write survey questions.'

Anita Hales
Ketchikan, AK

Received April 24, 2007 - Published April 24, 2007

About: " Long time resident."

 

 

 

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