Push Polling
- A survey which is intended to change respondent's attitudes.
- A survey in which the questions have been deliberately phrased so as to make the results of the survey misleading.
These two slightly different meanings can often be applied to the same survey. For example, a survey asking a question such as "It has recently come to light that President Obama was not born in America and is a secret Muslim. Do you think President Obama is an honest and trustworthy man?" is consistent with both of these definitions. Ultimately the real distinction between the definitions comes down to the intent of the researchers conducting the survey. If their intent is to use the results of such a question to prepare a report that indicates that people do not trust President Obama, then this is an example of the second definition. If the intent is to change the attitudes of the respondents then it is an example of the first definition.