In a message dated 3/7/2008 1:05:10 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Yes 49% No 44% Unsure 6% I wish I could remember more of my PENN statistics class... but I think the results below do not qualify as a 'win' for either side. In fact I don't think they even meet the test for 'standard deviation'. Someone with some knowledge of statistics should feel free to chime in here. A "margin of error" is often cited in political and other public opinion polls; this is a very loose statistical measure, but one that seems to have stood the test of time in such matters. It's the reciprocal of the square root of the sample size. In this case, the number of respondents was 99, so the margin of error is 1/sqrt(99), which is a hair over 10%. On this basis, there's no statistical significance between 49% and 44%. I could give you the numbers for the questionnaires I posted -- but they weren't meant to serve as polls (rather, to ascertain why those who thought one way or another thought as they did). So the numbers who responded as proponents or opponents were never meant to have any meaning and it would be as dishonest to use them that was as it would be were the DP to claim statistical validity for their poll. I don't see the DP doing this, by the way ... only some of the people grasping at straws to counter the sentiment against the proposal in the neighborhood and questionable grounds the developers have for their application for a zoning variance. Always at your service & ready for a dialog, Al Krigman -- that ardent advocate for truth, justice, and the Libertarian Way **************It's Tax Time! Get tips, forms, and advice on AOL Money & Finance. (http://money.aol.com/tax?NCID=aolprf00030000000001)
