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Survey results in
By Ashwin Raman
"Do you think things in the State of Minnesota are generally going in the right direction, or do you feel things have gotten off on the wrong track?"
This is just one of the questions asked by the SCSU Survey team for its annual Fall Survey, which was conducted Oct. 14-27 and surveyed adults 18 and older from all over Minnesota.
The surveys were conducted by students under the guidance of Stephen Frank, Steven Wagner and Michelle Kukoleca Hammes.
The survey was operated from a Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) lab located in Stewart Hall.
A total of 50 students from political science classes completed the calling based on randomly picked numbers. The survey also included eight student directors who provided training for the students administering the survey.
Described as an Omnibus Survey, the phone survey centered on political issues concerning the upcoming elections as well as views on new policies and proposals.
"The most important questions are the ones on policies," Hammes said.
Some of the policy questions were on the construction of a new Twins stadium and the sale of wine in grocery stores.
The results of the survey were released Oct. 31 at a press conference.
Some of the findings from the polls: 43 percent of males in Minnesota feel that the state of Minnesota has "gotten off on the wrong track." About 23 percent of Minnesotans also believe that the single most important problem facing the state is education.
Another interesting fact the survey uncovered is that Gov. Jesse Ventura's approval rating has steadily declined over the past two years.
The SCSU Fall Survey was established in 1980 by Frank with the mission to serve the academic community and to provide surveying experience for the researchers and students involved. After 22 years, Frank believes that the SCSU Survey is continuously improving.
There have been huge strides from a technological aspect in the methodology of surveying since 1980. "When we first started, we used a paper and a pencil, but now we have computers to help us," Frank said.
Laurie Hoogeven, lead student director, said that there are many benefits student directors and students gain from the survey.
Working on a survey teaches the nature of statistics and how to pull survey samples. Most importantly, the results of a survey have to be very carefully evaluated to ensure the research is well grounded. Hoogeven also believes that learning how a survey really works is not easy to do in class.
"This opportunity (survey) provided first hand experience for students," she said.
Results of the survey and further information about the SCSU Fall Survey can be found at http://web.stcloudstate.edu/scsusurvey.
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