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What are opinions polls? A public form of political gossip, a way for politicians to test public reactions to policies or an accurate prediction of how people will vote? Opinion polls have their uses, but it is important to remember they do not, and are not intended to, predict the future. Getting political opinion polling in perspective is not always as straight forward as it seems.
By: The OpenLearn team (The Open University,)
- Duration 15 mins
- Updated Sunday 24th October 2010
- Posted under Politics
Track 1: The making of the public opinion: Your truth or theirs
A public form of political gossip, a way for politicians to test out public reaction to policies, an accurate prediction of how people will vote? Getting political opinion polling in perspective is not always as straight forward as it seems.
© The Open University 2010
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Tracks in this podcast:
Track | Title | Description |
---|---|---|
1 | The making of the public opinion: Your truth or theirs | A public form of political gossip, a way for politicians to test out public reaction to policies, an accurate prediction of how people will vote? Getting political opinion polling in perspective is not always as straight forward as it seems. Play now The making of the public opinion: Your truth or theirs |
2 | Perspective: The making of the public opinion: Your truth or theirs | Opinion polls have their uses - but it is important to remember they do not, nor are intended to, predict the future. Join Dave Middleton for a discussion about the pitfalls of polls, and dangers of irresponsible media reporting. Play now Perspective: The making of the public opinion: Your truth or theirs |
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Originally published: Sunday, 24th October 2010
Copyright information
- Body text - Content : Copyright The Open University
- Audio/Video tracks: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 The Open University 2010
- Image 'Pitfalls of Polls' - Copyright: The Open University 2010
- Image 'Jeremy Vine presents 2010 polls' - Copyright:
BBC
- Image 'Bar graph' - Copyright:
Sunnycatty | Dreamstime.com
- Image 'Image from animation of man looking at a newspaper with the headline 'what is your opinion?'' - Copyright: The Open University
- Image 'Signing recognising contribution of ERSF to Scotland' - John Allan under Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0 license
- Image 'Postcode Patterns' - The Open University under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
- Image 'Global map in sea of numbers' - Copyright: Michael Brown | Dreamstime.com
- Image 'Jeremy Corbyn' - Global Justice Now under CC-BY licence under Creative-Commons license
- Image 'Tampon Mona Lisa' - Dave Morice under CC-BY-SA licence under Creative-Commons license
- Image 'Common magpie' - Stefan Berndtsson under Creative Commons BY 4.0 license
- Image 'EU Flags' - Andrew Gustar under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 license
- Image 'Overhead view of UK and Europe at night with lights on' - Eric Fischer - flickr under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
- Image 'A home-made swingometer' -
Syniq under CC-BY-NC-ND licence
under Creative-Commons license - Image 'Barack Obama doll' -
Tony The Misfit under CC-BY licence
under Creative-Commons license
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Publication details
-
Originally published: Sunday, 24th October 2010
Copyright information
- Body text - Content: Copyright The Open University
- Audio/Video tracks: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 The Open University 2010
- Image 'Pitfalls of Polls' - Copyright: The Open University 2010
- Image 'Jeremy Vine presents 2010 polls' - Copyright:
BBC
- Image 'Bar graph' - Copyright:
Sunnycatty | Dreamstime.com
- Image 'Image from animation of man looking at a newspaper with the headline 'what is your opinion?'' - Copyright: The Open University
- Image 'Signing recognising contribution of ERSF to Scotland' - John Allan under Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0 license
- Image 'Postcode Patterns' - The Open University under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
- Image 'Global map in sea of numbers' - Copyright: Michael Brown | Dreamstime.com
- Image 'Jeremy Corbyn' - Global Justice Now under CC-BY licence under Creative-Commons license
- Image 'Tampon Mona Lisa' - Dave Morice under CC-BY-SA licence under Creative-Commons license
- Image 'Common magpie' - Stefan Berndtsson under Creative Commons BY 4.0 license
- Image 'EU Flags' - Andrew Gustar under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 license
- Image 'Overhead view of UK and Europe at night with lights on' - Eric Fischer - flickr under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
- Image 'A home-made swingometer' -
Syniq under CC-BY-NC-ND licence
under Creative-Commons license - Image 'Barack Obama doll' -
Tony The Misfit under CC-BY licence
under Creative-Commons license - Image 'Yes and No promotional items from the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum' - Kyoshi Masamune under Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0 license
- Image 'Polling Station signage [Image: kagey b under CC-BY-NC-ND licence] ' -
kagey_b under CC-BY-NC-ND licence
under Creative-Commons license - Image 'A giant ballot box placed in Bristol promoting participation in the 2014 European Elections' - Phillip Halling under Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0 license
- Image 'David Cameron' - MrGarethM under CC-BY licence under Creative-Commons license
- Image 'Nicola Sturgeon' - First Minister Of Scotland under Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0 license
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