ct.com/blog/wtxx-new-questions-about-robopolls-are-they-being-massaged-20130124,3,3475355.story

WCCT

New Questions About Robopolls: Are They Being Massaged?

By Gregory B. Hladky

1:11 PM EST, January 24, 2013

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Here's a new study that raises some fascinating questions about robopolls, telephone public opinion surveys where people are asked their opinions by an automated computer-programed voice and record answers by punching a key.

One possibility suggested by the study is that robo-pollers are massaging their results so they don't appear too different from traditional polls that have actual humans asking the questions.

The 2010 elections in Connecticut saw a vast increase in the use of robopolls here and a corresponding jump in doubts about how accurate they might be.