Rock ‘n Poll

These resources were put together by Mark Smith (Horowhenua College). The interactive website Rock ‘n Poll is a great intro to the variation present in polls.

Mark suggests using these resource links in conjunction with Dru Rose’s Testing claims flowchart.

Rock ‘n Polls graphic  This interactive website has a sample of 1, 10 many and a lazy button, once you get the picture! It clearly shows how random chance effects poll results.

Political opinion poll  

  • Construct a confidence interval for the difference in support for National vs Labour/Green block.
  • Construct a confidence interval for the change in support for National since the last poll.
  • There is no MoE given but the pollsters methodology is outlined by ReidResearch.

Medicinal marijuana use  Construct a confidence interval for the proportion of New Zealanders who support the use of medicinal marijuana. (NZHerald)

Has John Keys support plummeted?  (Newshub)

Hangover cure?  Looks at the way different newspapers report on the same source data. (Statschat)

Auckland Mayoral Race.  Construct a confidence interval for the support for Phil Goff, is the race effectively over? (The Spinoff)

Twenty tips for interpreting scientific claims. (Nature.com.)