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Download AudioA statistical researcher says people need to take polls of Māori opinion with a grain of salt.
Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere has criticised the Curia Research polls used by Whakaata Māori because the sample size of 500 is too small to make reliable conclusions.
Dr Nicole Satherley from the University of Auckland says election polls can only be an indicator of overall public opinion – and people shouldn’t rely on single polls.
“So one of the main things people should think about – when interpreting poll results – is looking at the trend in poll results over time., so not just thinking about that one particular result, as giving a true picture of what’s going on,” she says.
Dr Satherley says historically an average of several polls taken over time has proved a fairly reliable guide to New Zealand election results.
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