Learning From Polling: People Lie

Not long ago we had a post about what we can learn from presidential polling. Despite the fact that the election is now over, there is a lot that survey researchers can learn from the way presidential polls are conducted, their accuracy, and their errors.

But one of the most important things to learn is that people lie. Everyone knows this. Most researchers are aware that not everyone answers questions with the truth.

But what most people don't realize is that, depending on the question, lying may be incredibly common.

During the elections, Jimmy Kimmel Live decided to interview people about their opinion of "Last Night's Debate" and whether they thought Mitt Romney or Barack Obama won. They received many spirited answers, except there was a problem: there was no debate. The debate actually hadn't happened yet, and it was scheduled for the next day.

Somehow, despite no debate taking place, they not only received answers to their questions about the debate – they received spirited answers by those that presumably had very strong opinions about the subject, or those that were simply trying to get on TV. Either way, it's clear that people would have answered strongly in any poll or survey, and thus would have affected the overall results.

There's reason to believe that lying during answers about politics may be a bit more common than lying about something like the way they view customer service within your company. But that doesn't mean it doesn't happen in smaller ways.

For example, the customer may not have really thought about their customer service or product choice, but may still answer them, providing you with a response that isn't necessarily their true opinion. You don't necessarily have to worry about lying with your surveys, but as usual, it's something you want to keep in mind when analyzing results – especially in smaller samples. It's something that could come up, and if the topic that you're discussing is something people may have a vested interest in lying about, it's a worry you should consider and check for.

Survey research is a growing field that is valuable to every type of company. But it's one with a few challenges, since its primary subjects – people – are not always reliable. That is why testing with your surveys is so crucial and using best practices so vital.