“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived, and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic." - John F. Kennedy
Public opinion surveys and other forms of social science research are a necessary input into an efficient, successful organization.
Accurate opinion research informs lawmakers and business leaders about the priorities of their constituents and offers the opportunity to make informed decisions.
Enormous amounts of resources are used to survey thousands of Americans every day about everything from their opinions on social and cultural issues to their support for political candidates. And even more resources are allocated based on the results of those surveys.
Getting it “right” has never been more important. But oftentimes public surveys get it wrong.
Private opinion methods are survey methods designed specifically to elicit people’s true opinions even in the presence of distorting filters, like strong social conformity pressures, complex tradeoffs, and leaky abstractions.
