Smooth The Path

FEBRUARY 21, 2016

Why do we want statistics so much? We feel better when we can say 75% of our members do this. 45% want this. 68% prefer this. We tend to think statistical measures are the truth. And many times they are. But sometimes they are not. So when we are making really important decisions we want to evaluate how true this data is. When making a strategic decision on the basis of qualitative data (a member survey, our own data or third party data) ask these questions: Who responded and are these the membe

Survey 78

Survey Member Research Member Insights Strategy 78

SCD Group

FEBRUARY 21, 2016

While facilitating an association board workshop Friday, I shared that 9.2% of their members answered in a specific way. then, I let them know that for this question, 9.2% was only one member! Associations reading surveys need to be careful what they discover and the decisions they make. The headlines from Saturday’s South Carolina primary and Nevada caucuses show that the news media suffers from misperceptions arising from polling.

South Carolina 40

South Carolina Nevada Survey Examples 40