Corrections or additions?
These articles by Michele Alperin and Vivian Fransen were prepared
for the October 18, 2000 edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights
reserved.
Accuracy in Polling
Poll results inundate consumers in the print media,
over the air waves, and on the Internet and, in the process, influence
public opinion. But veteran pollster Harry O’Neill of Roper
Starch Worldwide advises consumers to approach reported numbers with
caution and not to accept them at face value.
Although the survey data itself may have been gathered according to
the highest professional standards, says O’Neill, “when a release
is put into the media, it is filtered through whoever puts it on the
air or in the paper. It’s one thing to get the numbers; it’s another
to interpret them.” Due to time and space considerations,
journalists
tend to summarize and interpret results, rather than providing the
raw survey data. O’Neill also cautions consumers to be wary of certain
purported “polls” that may not be valid under any
circumstances.
To provide wary consumers with tools to weed through journalistic
interpretations and evaluate poll results for themselves, O’Neill
speaks Thursday, October 19, at noon at the Mercer County Community
College Communications Center, Room 110. His title: “Here a Poll,
There a Poll, Everywhere Another Poll.” Call 609-586-4800,
extension
3319.
O’Neill tells consumers to ask the following questions when trying
to weigh the validity of poll results reported in the media:
What questions were asked in the poll? The media oftendo not supply the full wording of poll questions, says O’Neill.”Sometimesif it’s a television report, there is limited time. Print media hasmore ability to provide full wordings, but they don’t always.”Adds O’Neill: “If you don’t know exactly what question was asked,it is difficult to evaluate the results.” Only when provided withthe exact wording of a question “can consumers make their ownjudgments and decide if a question doesn’t make sense or soundsloaded.”How many people were in the sample? The larger the numberof people interviewed, other things being equal, the smaller thepossibilitythat the sample does not represent the target population.What kinds of people were in the sample? A poll’s resultsreflect only the views and opinions of the types of people includedin the sample.How was the sample selected? The pollster must carefullydesign a method for selecting interviewees, and persons may notdesignatethemselves as interviewees.When was the research done? Events that occur in theinterimbetween the collecting of data and its release may invalidate thesurvey’s results.What company did the survey? Any journalistic report ofa poll should include this information. “If a firm is well knownand has a good reputation, it lends credibility to a survey,”says O’Neill.Who is the client who sponsored the research? Every pollis commissioned for a reason, either to gather information or toadvancea cause or point of view. Consumers must factor these motivationsinto their evaluations of particular polls.O’Neill graduated from Colgate University in 1950 with a degreein psychology and in 1951 received a masters in clinical psychologyfrom Penn State University. After working as a clinician in the AirForce, he got a job with the opinion research group at PrudentialInsurance.During his 25 years at Opinion Research Corporation, O’Neill didpollingon a whole range of issues, including political polling for Goldwaterin ’64 and for Nixon in ’68 and ’72. He served as White House pollsterduring Nixon’s term, where he “polled every two weeks oneverythingimaginable.” Today O’Neill is vice chair of the Roper Divisionof Roper Starch Worldwide (formerly Response Analysis), where heconducts survey research forlitigationon intellectual property, trademark confusion, and misleadingadvertising (www.roper.com)O’Neill holds a high opinion of the survey research industry, andhe believes that “most of the public has a pretty positiveattitudetowards polls.” However, he warns the consumer to be wary ofseveraltypes of purported “data” that may be published under theguise of being reliable and representative:1.) The results of focus groups are sometimes publishedas if they were the results of scientifically-conducted polls. O’Neillexplains that “focus groups represent only the opinions of thepeople in the focus group and cannot get projected beyond that. Whenthe opinions of the handful of people in a focus group are put forwardas public opinion, it’s unethical.”2.) Web-based poll data may be projected as representativeand scientifically valid. “Although there are a couple ofcompaniestrying to do a good sampling job on the Internet,” says O’Neill,”some web-based polls are totally worthless — only one halfof the public has PCs and fewer have Internet access.” The resultis a biased, unreliable sample.3.) Data from instant polls may be projected asrepresentativeand scientifically valid. These polls, conducted after politicaldebates,have their own sampling problems. One issue is that the samples forthese polls include only viewers, not the whole public. In addition,they include only those viewers who can be reached quickly, sincethere is no time for callbacks. Again, the result is a biased,unreliablesample.4.) Polls released on a particular issue or piece ofpendinglegislation may be intended to sway public opinion or to legitimatea company’s point of view. O’Neill explains that if such a poll isnot done properly, “then there can be suspicion that it was donedeliberately to be biasing.”— Michele AlperinTop Of PageCareers in ScienceRider University’s Careers in Science seminars beginFriday, October 20, at 1 p.m. in Sweigart Hall auditorium with a talkby a managed care executive, Patricia A. Deverka. They continuein November and December with seminars by Nobel laureate EricWieschausand Freeman Dyson, physicist and futurist.Deverka speaks on “Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research: A Balancingbetween Improved Health Status and Escalating PharmaceuticalCosts.”She is vice president for scientific affairs at Merck Medco ManagedCare LLC. With a master’s degree from the University of MarylandSchoolof Medicine, and an MD from the University of Pittsburgh, she didpost-doctoral training at Maryland and the University of Chicago.She has worked at Abbott Laboratories, been vice president of outcomesresearch for Janssen Research Foundation, and served as senior vicepresident and medical director for Hastings Healthcare Group (nowHealth Answers Inc.) in Pennington Business Park.In the past two years at Merck Medco Deverka developed a healthservicesresearch group within a large pharmacy benefit management (PBM)company.The group aims to measure the impact of its PBM services on pharmacyand total healthcare costs, patient health outcomes, quality of life,and satisfaction with pharmaceutical care.The seminars are arranged by the university’s Science Advisory Board.Wieschaus, a professor of molecular biology at Princeton University,will speak on Friday, November 10. Dyson is professor emeritus ofphysics at the Institute of Advanced Study and is a recipient of thenational Book Critics Circle Award, among many others. Among his booksare “The Sun, the Genome, and the Internet: Tools of ScientificRevolution” and “Imagined Worlds.” He speaks Friday,December1.Top Of PageWearing Masks at WorkIt’s easy to be so caught up in the nitty-gritty tasksof our day-to-day work that we lose sight of our core values and neverreally reveal our true selves in the workplace, say two New Jerseycorporate consultants.That’s the reason why Lisa Zimmer and Josephine Diagonaleare teaming up to lead a weekend retreat entitled “IntegratingSpirit & Work: Being Who You Are In The Workplace.” This retreatcosts $395 and will run from Friday evening, October 20, throughSundayafternoon, October 22, at Novotel on 100 Independence Way. A seriesof interactive sessions that will allow time for short teachings,writing in journals, and small group discussions, as well as offersuch experiential methods as visualization, imagery, meditation, andbody movement. Overnight accommodations are available but not requiredfor participants.Similar events will take place at the Vincentian Renewal Center onMapleton Road later this fall. With Patricia Dolan, Diagonaleleads an experiential exploration of meditation and prayer on Sunday,October 29, 9:30 to 5 p.m., and “Celebrate the Return of Lightin Meditation and Prayer” on four Thursday evenings in December.For information, call Zimmer at 973-635-8176 or Diagonale at732-208-2198.”We all spend an enormous amount of our lives in theworkplace,”says Diagonale, who has over 30 years of experience as a careercounselor,teacher, and management consultant. “Yet, we often don’t bringenough of who we really are,” she adds, noting the need forindividualsto explore the cost of not sharing more of their inner selves at work.”The good news is that you don’t have to wear a mask to besuccessful,”says Zimmer, who has more than 12 years of managerial and coachingexperience in mid-size and Fortune 500 corporations. “This retreatis especially designed for people who are beginning to see that theyare holding something back in the workplace and it’s irritating them.We provide the tools for people to increase their awareness of thebody/mind/spirit connection and better understand the context to lookrealistically at the possibilities and opportunities for growth.”Zimmer grew up in Newton, Massachusetts, where her father served ascantor at Temple Chabei Shalom in Brookline, and her mother was botha homemaker and social worker. After earning a bachelor’s degree ineducation and psychology at Lesley College and a master’s degree inhuman resource management at Cambridge College, she worked withseveralpharmaceutical companies in New Jersey and landed a job as vicepresidentof human resources at Faulding Inc. in Elizabeth. There she metJosephineDiagonale, a consultant hired to teach team-building skills to enhanceproductivity.”I saw how important it was to go underneath the surface toexplorea person’s values and underlying concepts to make long-lasting changesin business behaviors,” says Zimmer. She has since opened herown consulting business (Alexis Rose Consulting), helpingorganizationsbecome more effective and helping individuals through her center inChatham called Alexis Rose Healing Hearts Center for Well Being andTherapeutic Massage. Zimmer is also a certified massage therapist,offering such services as Kripalu body work, aromatherapy, andenergy balancing.The traditional way for corporate leaders to develop more productiveemployees, says Diagonale, is to offer staff development programs.She believes that many successful companies recognize the need tobetter understand the complex nature and interconnectedness of people,productivity, and profits. “Organization development andindividualdevelopment are two sides of the same coin,” says Diagonale.”Youcan’t do one without the other.”Diagonale grew up in Teaneck, where her father worked as a wholesalejeweler, and went to the College of New Rochelle and New YorkUniversityfor a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in English languageand literature). She was a high school teacher in New York City andlater taught, designed curriculum, and trained staff at GallaudetUniversity in Washington, D.C.In 1982 she established a forum for leadership development andpersonalgrowth called the Diaconia Group, working with clients in thepharmaceutical,chemical, financial, and healthcare industries. She later foundedthe Healing Tree Center for Counseling & Spirituality, offeringworkshopsand counseling from offices in Red Bank and Point Pleasant.While acknowledging the need for individuals to carefully considertheir own circumstances, Diagonale and Zimmer offer the followingadvice to help achieve the integration of spirituality and work:Do breathing exercises. Close your office door for fiveminutes and focus on taking long, deep breaths. With so many stressesat the office, you can breathe new life into your work when you arecentered.Go out for lunch. Some people never physically stepoutsideof the building during their workday. Worse yet, we often resort toeating only a candy bar for lunch, depleting our bodies of propernourishment. Going outside for fresh air and taking time for anutritiouslunch can renew your body.Brief periods of meditation in the workplace are healthy.Close your eyes and declutter your mind for a few minutes.Make connections with people. Whether you are walkingdown the hall or attending a staff meeting, make a conscious effortto reach out to others and interact with the people around you. Suchinteractions can help reshape your work environment.”Creativity and productivity is about having a sense ofpresence and being relaxed,” says Diagonale. “To expand ourconsciousness, we need to first observe our actions and feelings.Then we can move forward, released from (and no longer findingourselvesexisting in) a kind of bondage to a limited view of ourselves.”— Vivian FransenNext StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
