Reply #9: Think of it this way... [View All]

[badgerpup]

There's- I don't know how many polls on the Internet daily...let's call it 100, just to have a number.
Do you participate in ALL those 100 polls, or do you participate in only those in which you have an interest and some information?

Bring it nearer...there's polls daily here on DU and 100,980 users...
but on the ones I've seen there's NEVER been anything even close to 1% participation, let alone full. Some I participate in, some I don't.

A poll where you are randomly selected by an outside source would have greater statistical validity, since this particular poll might not be something you would have chosen on your own.
Self-selected polls would seem to be more like taking a vote among a closed group, whereas a randomly selected population for a poll has a greater chance of a more varied population.

Did that make sense?