Will City Qualify Survey as Unscientific as Elk Grove Soccer Attempts to Skew Results?



May 24, 2016 |

Anyone who have ever taken an online poll knows, or should know, those results should be viewed more like a popularity contest. It is not unlike voting for a Prom King and Queen - a contest based more on popularity than anything else.

Indeed, when a survey is conducted on this site, it is always qualified as unscientific. While some information can be gleaned from such surveys, they should always be viewed through the popularity prism.

Currently, the City of Elk Grove is conducting an online survey like others found on websites that are unscientific. The survey is called "Community Update on Quality of Life Service Needs & Priorities."


In a letter from Elk Grove City Manager Laura Gill, she primarily discusses public safety while failing to mention other quality of life issues like the support of the arts, traffic, air quality or the enhancement of the city's trail networks. Of the seven categories in the survey, four are dedicated to public safety.

While public safety is the focus of the survey, respondents can add categories such as those mentioned above. Nonetheless, the survey seems to equate quality of life primarily to public safety.

Back to the unscientific nature of these popularity polls, a reader recently forwarded us an email distributed by Elk Grove Soccer (see above, click to enlarge) on its Constant Contact account to its member families. The email instructed families to take the survey and said:

"In Question No. 1 on the Survey, you can check any of the items that you believe are important to your family. To help the City understand the importance of soccer to your family, make sure you check the third box "Attract and Retain local businesses/ improve economic development." Then tell the City in the Survey Question No. 2 that you believe the sports complex with soccer fields should be a priority that would be benefit Elk Grove families as well as to the City itself.  

Like any organization hoping to skew public opinion to reflect their point of view, Elk Grove Soccer is only playing the game in hopes of influencing elected officials. More accurately, they are probably trying to give Elk Grove Mayor Gary Davis ammunition to help convince at least two fellow councilmen, in an election year no less, to justify a questionable multi-million dollar expenditure. 

Indeed, some people intimately involved in youth soccer locally have expressed skepticism to EGN if there is the need that Elk Grove Soccer, its Chief Executive Officer Andrew Donnery and Davis have claimed exist in the City. Although that is a separate story, taxpayers need to question if the need exists in Elk Grove or if it is more a matter of more efficiently and fairly scheduled use of athletic fields provided by the Cosumnes Community Services District, and the Elk Grove Unified School District.  

So as the results from this online Elk Grove quality of life survey are revealed, the city needs to clearly state that the poll is unscientific. Furthermore, if the results show an inordinate amount of respondents saying soccer fields are a priority, you'll know Elk Grove Soccer will have organized its members well, but this may not be an accurate measure of facts on the ground. 



 


 

  





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2 comments

Ace of Spades said...

To support better solid waste disposal services, promptly dispose of this survey in your garbage can. This is all about fine tuning the wording on the ballot for the sales tax measure.

Josie said...

IMHO, when another entity enters the process then it is no longer a valid survey and should be disposed of...never to see the light of day! Shame on Elk Grove Soccer and this is from a hugh soccer fan.

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