poll - the process of finding out what people think about something by asking many people the same question, or the record of the result
Question: I’d like to know the part “or the record of the result” should go with what?
the process of finding out what people think about something by asking many people the same question, or the process of finding out what people think about the record of the result
Is that right?
Thank you!!
I think people would say, “the process of finding out what people think about the result.” or “the process of finding out what people think about the research.” It’s not wrong to say “the process of finding out what people think about the record of the result” but it is a little strange and focuses attention on the recording rather than the result.
Polling people?
I don’t really understand the question.
Sorry about that. I have trouble explaining my question as well. Let me try it again.
The definition of “poll” I found from the dictionary:
poll - the process of finding out what people think about something by asking many people the same question, or the record of the result
But I don’t understand the last part “or the record of the result”, does it share with or should I say go with which front part?
I hope somebody can understand what I’m talking about.
An opinion poll is the process of selecting a scientific sample of people from a given population and asking them all the same question or questions (normally with multiple choice answers) to find out what a certain population thinks about a given subject, namely what the majority opinion is.
The results of the poll (after the questioning is completed and the answers are compiled) is also called a poll. That is all that is meant by “or the record of the result.” It is a separate thing from the process. There is a) the process of administering the poll (asking the questions), and then b) the results or findings of the poll (analyzing the responses). Each part (the process and the result) is referred to as a poll.
On the game show Family Feud, it is called a survey. “Survey says…” It is basically the same thing, except that the survey on the game show is taken from a small group of people (the studio audience), not a scientific sample, and does not reflect anything like public opinion.
Larger scale, scientific surveys generally assess people’s thoughts, feelings and/or opinions. An opinion poll is a type of survey that reflects public opinion. ‘Survey’, just like ‘poll,’ refers to both a) the process of asking the questions and b) the results after the answers are compiled.
a. Would you like to participate in a survey? (i.e. a series of questions.)
b. The survey says that 73% of people from Taiwan consider themselves Taiwanese, rather than Chinese. (i.e. The answers from the survey indicate that…)
c. The agency is going to conduct a survey (i.e. ask a series of questions and analyze the results based on the responses given.)
To answer your question more specifically, no, that is not right. It is the process of finding out what people think about something by asking many people the same question or the record of the result of the process of finding out what people think (i.e. the record of what their responses were). It’s just not a very well worded definition. All the dictionary is trying to do is differentiate between usage, that is, when ‘poll’ refers to administering the poll (asking the questions) and when ‘poll’ refers to the results of the poll (what the responses show after the questions were asked).
Hope this helps!
Thank you so much for the help, brucenator !! I’ve learned a lot!
I think I get it now. It’s giving two usages for the word poll. Firstly, the actual research. Secondly, the outcome of the research. So if a sentence says ‘The latest poll says the president is unpopular,’ then the word ‘poll’ here refers to the ‘record of the result’ (i.e. the result of the poll, not the process of undertaking the poll).
In this case, why using poll?
In this sentence “poll” means “vote” or “election.” As in, “survives early vote threat.”