Open-access poll | Solutional Webdesign Antwerpen

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Open-access polls are a type of survey where participation is unrestricted and anyone interested can participate. This polling method often attracts the most engaged individuals who may also be more likely to vote. However, due to its unlimited access, it lacks a specific participant selection process, making it difficult to generalize the results. While some believe that weighting the results can make these polls more representative, the overall reliability is often questioned.

Online polls are another method which allows participants to respond via the Internet^[1]. These polls can be inclusive or exclusive depending on the target sample. Particularly popular in Australia, online panels are considered a major research method. Despite potential issues with response rates, advocates for scientific online polling argue that its reliability is comparable to traditional polls.

On the other hand, voodoo polls are characterized by their lack of statistical or scientific reliability. Self-selection is common in these polls, making them prone to manipulation. Coined by Sir Robert Worcester, the term ‘voodoo poll’ is used to describe polls that are unrepresentative and unreliable indicators of public opinion.

Other related concepts include push polls, biased samples, social polling, and voxpop and Urtak. The reliability and validity of these polls have been studied and discussed in various academic articles and sources.

Terms definitions

1. ↑ Internet ( Internet ) The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use standardized communication protocols, primarily the TCP/IP, to link devices worldwide. Originating from the term 'internetted' used in 1849, the term 'Internet' was later used by the US War Department in 1945. Its development began with computer scientists creating time-sharing systems in the 1960s and further progressed with the establishment of ARPANET in 1969. The Internet is self-governed, without a central authority, and its principal name spaces are administered by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). It has significantly transformed traditional communication media and has grown exponentially over the years, with internet users increasing 20% to 50% annually. In 2019, over half of the world population used the Internet. The Internet protocol suite, which includes TCP/IP and four conceptual layers, guides internet packets to their destinations. Essential services like email and Internet telephony operate on the Internet. The World Wide Web, a global collection of interconnected documents, is a key component of the Internet.

Open-access poll (Wikipedia)

An open-access poll is a type of opinion poll in which a nonprobability sample of participants self-select into participation. The term includes call-in, mail-in, and some online polls.

The most common examples of open-access polls ask people to phone a number, click a voting option on a website, or return a coupon cut from a newspaper. By contrast, professional polling companies use a variety of techniques to attempt to ensure that the polls they conduct are representative, reliable and scientific. The most glaring difference between an open-access poll and a scientific poll is that scientific polls typically randomly select their samples and sometimes use statistical weights to make them representative of the target population.

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