Dial Group Madness

time-blog.com - 10/17/2008

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I was doing some cable TV duty last night and had the bad luck to follow a segment about a focus group of voters being dial tested during the debate. Dial groups are bad enough, but actually putting this madness on television as a verdict of some kind is reckless. I said as much at the beginning ...

nationaljournal.com - 10/15/2008

National Journal Online - Dial A Cell, Reach A Dem

— nationaljournal.com — As promised , let's take a look at how the growth of "cell-phone-only" households may be affecting... the political polls we are all obsessing over. Read more from Mark Blumenthal on polling of "cell-phone-only" households and add your comments at ... (more) National Journal Online - Dial A Cell, Reach A Dem

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FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right: Scrap the Squigglys

Outside The Beltway | OTB: Debate Reaction Dial ‘Squigglys’

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Scrap the Squigglys
FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right — I'm with Mike Murphy on this one. The presence of on-screen results from dial-testing groups is something that needs to be reconsidered during future presidential debates. ...

Debate Reaction Dial ‘Squigglys’
Outside The Beltway | OTB — ... seconds Mike Murphy ’s plea for television networks to end the practice of showing the instant reaction of uncommitted voters via dial group “squigglys” on the screen during presidential debates. Says Murphy: First, the sample from one group is far too small to mean much. Second, turning this voodoo into a television spectacular completely distorts whatever limited research value a group might provide. Research technique is supposed to leave respondents alone and unmolested, not plopped down in front of live TV cameras. No wonder the respondents in these groups are really ...