It follows that a question should be even-handed . When a poll is about a complex issue, questions should not assume knowledge , even when the issue seems familiar to the pollster or the journalist covering the poll. Questions about taxes and government spending are particularly prone to this problem. On the other hand, a question must not supply so much information as to be leading . Unsurprisingly, almost 70 percent said they would prefer their Congressmen to vote to eliminate the tax.
Complex issues can sometimes lead to questions which are themselves too complex.
If one part of the issue is dependent on another, separate questions are better. Other ways in which questions can become too complex include overlong prefaces or an excessive number of response categories. A corollary of the complexity issue is that questions should use everyday language . A question asking about a presidential veto or a congressional override may seem second nature to someone who writes about politics but can be very confusing to the average citizen. Furthermore, if a respondent hasn't got a clue about what the question is about, he or she may nevertheless give a substantive answer, skewing the poll's results without really telling us what the people think.