What are some criticism of opinion polls?

Joie Libutti: They all differ. Flip it to one channel 80% of Americans agree with something. On another channel, only 20% do. The problem is that they survey a group of random people and assume that that is what America thinks.

Lenard Ginyard: well we know that by asking a question a certain way, you can get the answer you want, so, how was the question worded/formed, how many people were asked, where were they asked, their demographics, etc. all of these things are important to know cause they can skew results.. for example if i survey 100 people about gay marriage and 97% said they want gays to be allowed to marry, doesnt really tell me much, that poll could have been taken in san fransisco or key west and we all know how the results would turn out there...Show more

Emerita Sciandra: Most polls do not actually say what group they poll or how the question was stated in the first place. That makes them null and void to me.