Questionnaires and interviews are ethically demanding forms of public interaction. A researcher can steer an answer simply by changing the wording of a question, even when the resulting statistics look persuasive. That bias can invalidate the conclusions. The same caution applies to political and public-opinion polling because the answer may reflect the question's framing as much as the underlying circumstances. Any reported survey result should therefore be read alongside the instrument that produced it.
Chapter · 29:54-31:50
Leading questions, bias, and the interpretation of polls
Survey and interview questions must be fair, consistent, and neutral because leading phrasing can manufacture a preferred response, invalidate a student project, and distort the interpretation of public polling.