Chapter 6 discusses the importance of well-worded polling questions. When we look carefuly at the way questions are worded, we interrogate the construct validity of a poll: Is the question measuring what it intends to measure?
My home paper, the Philadelphia Inquirer, ran a story on a recent poll last Saturday (right). It shows the results of a poll that asked people about the national health care law. Half of the sample was asked a question about "Obamacare;" the other half was asked the same question, but about the law's official name, "The Affordable Care Act." You can see how the wording of the question changed the responses.
Here's a link to a web story on this poll, with a link to the full text of the polling questions.
My read of this poll's results suggests that the name "Obamacare" is not necessarily a pejorative term. While calling the law "Obamacare" increased the negative responses people gave, it also increased the positive responses they gave.
The poll also suggests that most people think of the law under the name "Obamacare." Calling the law the "Affordable Care Act" caused the number of "Don't know" responses to more than double. Construct validity is relevant again--how can people give their valid opinion on a law that they don't know about?
In light of these results, how would you word the question in order to get the most accurate picture of people's true feelings toward America's health care law?
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