Does the question form influence public opinion poll results?

Abstract

While the accuracy of the election-prediction type of public opinion poll has been demonstrated, that of the social-issue poll has still not been proven. To study the accuracy of the latter type of poll, "three thousand residents of Irvington, N. J., were asked whether they were in favor of, or opposed to, the proposed state amendment concerning the legalizing of horse racing and parimutuel betting, on which an election was to be held." Five different question forms yielded from 85% to 99% accuracy when compared with the actual vote cast in the election. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)