posted
Have you ever been forced to take a survey about your private activites or personal beliefs? Did you respond by talking out of a part of your anatomy normally associated with excrement? Who made you talk, what did they want to know, and how did you lie?
Poll Information
This poll contains 5 question(s). 86 user(s) have voted. You may not view the results of this poll without voting.
-------------------- "If God wrote it, the grammar must be infallible. Perhaps it is we who are mistaken." -MapleLeaf Posts: 977 | From: Boston, MA | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
I tried to take the poll but I cannot answer question 5, which asks:
quote:If you lied, did you make yourself seem "better" or "worse"?
You need to add "I did not lie" (my answer) and "neither." Brian
-------------------- "Dear Big Foot Smellers: Please don't quote me on some of this information." John F. Winston Posts: 1707 | From: Camarillo, CA | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
Like BrianB, I didn't lie on the surveys I had to take. As a result, while I answered "better" to question 5, the real answer should have been "not applicable."
-------------------- Ad astra per asparagus. Posts: 4806 | From: Groton, CT | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Esprise Me: Have you ever been forced to take a survey about your private activites or personal beliefs?
When would you ever be forced to take part in such a survey?
Pogue
-------------------- Let's drink to the causes in your life: Your family, your friends, the union, your wife. Posts: 11325 | From: Kentucky | Registered: Nov 2000
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ETA: Pogue--this poll was inspired by another thread (10% of Americans are gay) that got sidetracked on the issue of whether surveys on sexual practices can be trusted. I brought up an experience of mine:
quote:During orientation my freshman year of college, we were forced to take a survey that was being conducted by Boston University. Word had it that BU was surveying the undergrads at just about every college in Boston, and the schools were getting some sort of kickback for making all students participate (makes a certain amount of sense; after all, the people with the juiciest stories might be reluctant to participate, thus skewing the results.) The questions I recall all had to do with sexual behavior and drug use. My friends and I were outraged that we were being required to answer such personal questions, so we lied. Oh, how we lied. I think I told BU that I was a regular cocaine user (never touched anything harder than pot), had been pregnant "more than 5 times" and had aborted each pregnancy (never been pregnant), that I'd had "12-15 sexual partners" (actual number at that time: 1) and all sorts of other nonsense. Word to the wise: don't trust anything BU has reported about college students' habits within the last 5 years or so.
Two other posters chimed in to report similar experiences, so that made me wonder how often other people had been forced by their teachers or others in a position of power to fill out such surveys. I wanted to extrapolate on this in the first question, but I had limited space.
-------------------- "If God wrote it, the grammar must be infallible. Perhaps it is we who are mistaken." -MapleLeaf Posts: 977 | From: Boston, MA | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
Since I can't edit the poll, those of you who have had to take a survey but told the truth on every question can answer "never had to take a survey" for question 5. That way, we can compare the number of "nevers" in that question to the number of "nevers" in the other questions to get the number of people who didn't lie, and it won't skew the better/worse statistics. Not that this is exactly a scientific survey...and I swear none of you has to take it if you don't want to
-------------------- "If God wrote it, the grammar must be infallible. Perhaps it is we who are mistaken." -MapleLeaf Posts: 977 | From: Boston, MA | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
My friend once lied on a survey to make himself 3' tall and 1200 pounds. I still giggle at that mental image.
Posts: 351 | From: Fairbanks, AK | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
I usually take the opportunity to skew the results in the way I want. Usually, questions are along the "on a scale from 1 to 9, what do you think about..."-lines. In these cases, there is no middle ground unless it's something you really don't care about. If you dislike something slightly, give it a 1, if you like it slightly, give it a 9. That way, your answers will make a difference in the averages.
Just remember to put a 5 in everything you don't care about, as this will fool some statistical methods that would otherwise catch this method of skewing the results.
-------------------- /Troberg Posts: 4360 | From: Borlänge, Sweden | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
I never understood the reasons why people want to lie on a survey. When I was at university, I took an entire course that dealt with objective survey design. The amount of work that goes into creating a survey would astound many, and to see it go for nought when people lie.
The worst thing is that some snopester has probably lied on a survey in order to skew results, which will be cited by another snopester. Could be interesting.
I for one have never lied on a survey.
As for being forced to complete them. I consider the census a survey, which all Canadians are to complete (I think the next full one comes in 2011). In the military we have a survey that must be filled out every couple of years for self-identification, then the occasional one that makes us identify problems and corrections within our military structures. No choices on filling those out.
Posts: 2064 | From: New Brunswick, Canada | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
It just occurred to me that a particular unintended irony of my survey is that if you've never lied on a survey, you will have to, now (if you want to see the results). Some polls self-select for a certain kind of person (like, say, a survey asking whether you're willing to take surveys--people who would say "no" wouldn't be taking the survey.) But I've managed to create a survey that actually alters the status of the respondents re. their surveyed state. Do I get a cookie or a medal?
-------------------- "If God wrote it, the grammar must be infallible. Perhaps it is we who are mistaken." -MapleLeaf Posts: 977 | From: Boston, MA | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
... yeh, I put an answer in a survey, and then right after I thought, "A survey about whether or not you lie on a survey? How do you know I'm not lying on this one... ?"
-------------------- "Shakespeare and Dante divide the world between them. There is no third." - T. S. Eliot Posts: 77 | From: New Milford, CT | Registered: Mar 2006
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posted
Like UEL, when I was in the military I was forced to take surveys on this, that and t'other. Some of the surveys included questions on drug and alcohol use and other personal questions.
-------------------- Ad astra per asparagus. Posts: 4806 | From: Groton, CT | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
Yep, I lie on surveys. I even lied on the OP survey so I could see the results. However even though I put I was forced to take a survey (which is somewhat true since they were sometimes required for classes I've taken) I later answered I didn't have to take a survey (not because I answer surveys honestly but because I often answer them randomly with no intention of making myself seem better or worse). I'll lie on just about any kind of meaningless survey that's pushed in my direction or just give meaningless answers.
Once I was at putt-putt and they were pushing a little survey on people. I relucuctanly filled it out. Name: River Date: Brian, Sex: not nearly often enough, Worst thing: acid rain, Most wanted improvement: more Mariachi bands (sp... luckly Brian, a better speller than I was with me at the time).
In school it was fun to fill out things listing hundreds of sexual partners and drug abuse and get to hear terrifing tales on the state of young people today. Although I actually never had sex until I was an adult and out on my own and the last couple years I started answering some questions honestly because I was affraid people really did take those surveys seriously and saw teenagers as nothing more than drug addicted whores... which didn't really bother me much but the assumption was being made that ALL kids were doing it and I think that kind of view coming from people in authority is far worse than peer presure. Ok maybe abtainence wasn't the popular way to live but it was the way some people did live and not just a bizzare concept to be laughed at by adults IMHO.
-------------------- "The question for joining the protected forum for real magicians should be:
What is the use of women?" Steve W. from JREF's 'This is no fun' Posts: 7622 | From: North Carolina | Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
It's not really a survey, but every time anything asks about my ethnicity (in the U.S.), I always check the box that says Asian/Pacific Islander.
I was born on and my parents were from a VERY LARGE island in the Pacific (Australia).
I know, I skew the results that way, and it's not really intentional. I have no way of knowing what my true ethnicity is...so that's what I write.
-------------------- May those that love us, love us. And those that don't may God turn their hearts, and if He can't turn their hearts may He turn their ankles so we'll know them by their limping. Posts: 63 | From: Ghana, West Africa/Houston, TX | Registered: Sep 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Troberg: I usually take the opportunity to skew the results in the way I want. Usually, questions are along the "on a scale from 1 to 9, what do you think about..."-lines. In these cases, there is no middle ground unless it's something you really don't care about. If you dislike something slightly, give it a 1, if you like it slightly, give it a 9. That way, your answers will make a difference in the averages.
Just remember to put a 5 in everything you don't care about, as this will fool some statistical methods that would otherwise catch this method of skewing the results.
Or your results get weighed down or adjusted, if you only use 3 types of grading. It all depends on the system of evaluation applied.
-------------------- Movie characters never make typing mistakes. Posts: 586 | From: Hamburg, Germany | Registered: Sep 2005
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quote:Originally posted by 5 continents: It's not really a survey, but every time anything asks about my ethnicity (in the U.S.), I always check the box that says Asian/Pacific Islander.
I was born on and my parents were from a VERY LARGE island in the Pacific (Australia).
I know, I skew the results that way, and it's not really intentional. I have no way of knowing what my true ethnicity is...so that's what I write.
I knew a girl, very white (with red hair and freckles) that was from South Africa and she'd always check African American. I'm fairly sure more than one potential employer was surprised to met her. Last I knew she was working at Disney's Animal kingdom as a tour guide for the African Saffari ride... I wonder if her "ethnicity" helped her get that job.
My son loves filling out comment cards and businesses or at least the wait staff probably love it as well. For some reason he always puts that everything is excelent, wonderful and perfect. Whether we are at Hardee's or Staley's he'll say it was the best food he's ever had and the staff were absolutely the best he's ever seen. I've no idea of why he does that. Although that may actually be how he thinks. It doesn't take much to make the boy happy, hell styrofoam can entertain the kid for an hour. I think the only time he's ever complained about anything is when he bitched to a McDonnald's manager when the ball pit was closed.
-------------------- "The question for joining the protected forum for real magicians should be:
What is the use of women?" Steve W. from JREF's 'This is no fun' Posts: 7622 | From: North Carolina | Registered: Aug 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Esprise Me: Do I get a cookie or a medal?
You get a trout upside the noggin.
What the heck are you trying to say?
I'm just pointing out what I saw as an amusing little twist. The expression "would you like a cookie or a medal?" is a common way to sarcastically express "good job," at least among my friends, so that's what I was referring to there. And yes, a trout will be fine, thanks.
-------------------- "If God wrote it, the grammar must be infallible. Perhaps it is we who are mistaken." -MapleLeaf Posts: 977 | From: Boston, MA | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
Ethically, you should be able to opt out of any survey conducted in the US by a group for research purposes (except for the census, I don't know for sure about that, and there's probably other exceptions). So your college may have pressured you to take that survey, but in reality youl probably could have refused.
Obviously I wasn't there and don't know how it went down - but my bread and butter comes from survey research, so when they come my way I make sure to answer them honestly, for the karma points.
BTW - if you give outrageous answers on a survey, it's likely that your responses will be thrown out in the data cleaning phase, before the data is analysed and reported. However, that's only if it's obviously bogus - like the 5+ pregnancies and the cocaine binges, depending on what else you put.
-------------------- If you say you love ice cream, you better be dreaming of an orgy with Ben, Jerry, and one fine-ass chunky monkey.
-- My sister and poet extraordinaire, Joanna Hoffman Posts: 1475 | From: Los Angeles, CA | Registered: Jan 2006
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posted
I agree that some (perhaps many) give outrageous answers but some outrageous answers may be true. If you had Ron Jeremy in a sex survey would you throw his numbers out because they didn't match the norm even though I think odd numbers for him would be fairly correct? Would you throw me out (its happened before) because I'm an egotist that thinks I can do any damn thing I want (if I want it enough), not to mention just a bit odd at times? I thought my pysch survey might come back as delusional or insane but it came back as unscorable.
They, the powers that be, honestly don't believe that people think the way I do. At least on the overall evaluation (the stuff they actually decided to score) I came up as harmless but possibly deviant (what the hell does that mean?). I don't belong in this society. I still don't have a real job, although I also don't ask for the state's support. I do live life by my rules and yes I do think I can make my own rules. I was hoping for at least some psychosis diagnosis but instead they (once again the all knowing powers that be, since psychologist know more about us than we do) basically called me a liar... even though I answered as truthfuly as posible on those test out of curiosity. My truthfulness got me an incomplete. Well, that's the last time I'll try that method on a test. I could make some good guesses on what the norm would say but I have never been thought of as the norm.
-------------------- "The question for joining the protected forum for real magicians should be:
What is the use of women?" Steve W. from JREF's 'This is no fun' Posts: 7622 | From: North Carolina | Registered: Aug 2002
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