Thursday, April 03, 2008

Hints for Searching Polling the Nation

Hints aren't much, but a reminder of the product.

Search Hints for Polling the Nations

To conduct a successful search, it will be helpful for users to spend some time thinking about the goal of the search.

It is best to avoid putting too many words in the search. For example, to search for comparison of the Iraq war and the Vietnam war, it will be counter productive to enter “comparison of the Iraq war and the Vietnam war.” Simply enter Iraq and Vietnam in the question field. By keeping the search terms simple many questions will be displayed. Additional criteria can always be added to better focus the search.

To follow trends and compare attitudinal changes on an issue, users can find questions with identical wording for review. To find questions with identical wording, copy the question without the question mark and paste it in the search field. If the question is especially long, it may be necessary to select just a portion, containing key words of the question.

Combine a topic and one or two words in the text of the question to focus a search. The examples below demonstrate how to explore several different issues related to gun control.

Issue Would you support or oppose a law requiring a nationwide ban on semi automatic handguns?
Search Topic – Gun Control
Keyword - ban

Issue Do you favor or oppose stricter gun control laws in this country?
Search Topic – Gun Control
Keyword - Stricter gun control laws

Issue Do you think stricter gun control laws would reduce the amount of violent crime in this country or not?
Search terms Topic – Gun Control
Keyword - crime

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