Sociological Research (Surveys-2)

At some point, most people in the United States respond to some type of survey. The U.S. Census is an excellent example
of a large-scale survey intended to gather sociological data. Not all surveys are considered sociological research, however,
and many surveys people commonly encounter focus on identifying marketing needs and strategies rather than testing a
hypothesis or contributing to social science knowledge. Questions such as, “How many hot dogs do you eat in a month?” or “Were the staff helpful?” are not usually designed as scientific research. Often, polls on television do not reflect a
general population, but are merely answers from a specific show’s audience. Polls conducted by programs such as
American Idol or So You Think You Can Dance represent the opinions of fans but are not particularly scientific. A good
contrast to these are the Nielsen Ratings, which determine the popularity of television programming through scientific
market research.