Recently I came across this survey result:
In general, 54 percent of people most enjoy living in
suburban or rural areas. But among those who say they don't have to have the
last word in an argument, 74 percent most enjoy living in suburban or rural
areas.
Based on a survey of 164 people who don't have to have the
last word in an argument and 387 people total.
This, of course, brings to mind the problems with surveys in general. First off, this is an online survey, which means that the person completing the survey has a computer and internet access. This implies a lot about what the person's socio-economic status is. Also, the sample size is not large, and is self-selected - that is, those who want to participate in the survey may, while those who don't may opt out. There are any number of reasons why people opt not to participate, ranging from personal offense at the nature of the question to absolute ambivalence in the survey.
Any good survey has to have compelling questions without being leading. The above survey is binary - you are given only a selection of two choices. What's interesting about the survey is the correlation (hence the name of the site - correlated.org).
The first result is interesting in and of itself, and belies what the reality seems to indicate. The survey indicates that 54% of people most enjoy living in rural or suburban areas. In reality, there is a trend in the United States toward more urban living. More Americans live in urban areas now than ever before in history. However, perhaps this speaks to the perception that rural or suburban living is preferable, in spite of the numbers of people who are moving to more urban areas.
The correlated fact - that more people who don't have to have the last word in an argument prefer suburban/rural living - is interesting as well. It adds a psychological insight into those who prefer suburban/rural living. I'm not sure what the implications of that are, if any. Because, again, these folks are a minority of people anyway (164 of 387, or 42%). I think it's interesting to reverse the reported facts: that 58% of people DO have to have the last word in arguments, and 46% of people prefer to live in more urban areas.
The point is that we shouldn't put too much stock in surveys. They can be interesting and somewhat informative, but one should always question the motives behind the question, the conclusions that are being drawn, and how the data are manipulated to present or promote a certain viewpoint or agenda. The above survey is just a frivolous thing, although several conclusions can be drawn from this and other surveys they've done. The best surveys don't draw conclusions, but bring attention to the need for further questioning, study, and exploration.
This, of course, brings to mind the problems with surveys in general. First off, this is an online survey, which means that the person completing the survey has a computer and internet access. This implies a lot about what the person's socio-economic status is. Also, the sample size is not large, and is self-selected - that is, those who want to participate in the survey may, while those who don't may opt out. There are any number of reasons why people opt not to participate, ranging from personal offense at the nature of the question to absolute ambivalence in the survey.
Any good survey has to have compelling questions without being leading. The above survey is binary - you are given only a selection of two choices. What's interesting about the survey is the correlation (hence the name of the site - correlated.org).
The first result is interesting in and of itself, and belies what the reality seems to indicate. The survey indicates that 54% of people most enjoy living in rural or suburban areas. In reality, there is a trend in the United States toward more urban living. More Americans live in urban areas now than ever before in history. However, perhaps this speaks to the perception that rural or suburban living is preferable, in spite of the numbers of people who are moving to more urban areas.
The correlated fact - that more people who don't have to have the last word in an argument prefer suburban/rural living - is interesting as well. It adds a psychological insight into those who prefer suburban/rural living. I'm not sure what the implications of that are, if any. Because, again, these folks are a minority of people anyway (164 of 387, or 42%). I think it's interesting to reverse the reported facts: that 58% of people DO have to have the last word in arguments, and 46% of people prefer to live in more urban areas.
The point is that we shouldn't put too much stock in surveys. They can be interesting and somewhat informative, but one should always question the motives behind the question, the conclusions that are being drawn, and how the data are manipulated to present or promote a certain viewpoint or agenda. The above survey is just a frivolous thing, although several conclusions can be drawn from this and other surveys they've done. The best surveys don't draw conclusions, but bring attention to the need for further questioning, study, and exploration.
