Originally Posted by
Loki
Having actually learned statistics (things like the central limit theorem and the law of large numbers) and how polling works. Sample size is not a problem. The way questions are asked is a problem. The way the sample is chosen is a problem. The way samples are weighed to reflect the popular is a problem. High non-response rates are a problem. Herding in the polling industry is a problem. Sample size is not. In fact, having samples that are too large can be problematic in itself (non-independence of observations). And when I say those things are a problem, I don't mean that they're necessarily being done incorrectly; it's that there's many legitimate ways of doing it, but differences in those methods produce somewhat different results. There's no full-proof solution to this, though a poll of polls goes a long way towards minimizing bias of various kinds.