KopTalk.com Forums Football Liverpool FC Forum Marcovic

No problem, I actually did on another thread where I brought this up with Vish but you're quite right I didn't do it on this one. Whilst I wouldn't doubt your proficiency at your job, the sample is not random as it is most evidently not an unbiased sample that has been taken. For it to be a random sample of the 'posters on this forum' each poster would need the same probability of being represented. This poll does not exhibit such a chance selection of participants. Even if we are happy to narrow down the cross section of posters to those who happened to be on the site on the day at which that thread made it onto the most recently commented list (already making it unrepresentative of the general posting population though we are still within the realms of reason here), it is still a biassed sample as you are only taking those posters who saw the poll on that day, and would choose to actively engage. Now as with all 'surveys' you run into these problems of bias so you could discuss the extent of how representative or unrepresentative it is (though as demonstrated it isn't really representative of the posters as a whole already), but this is most certainly by definition not a random sampling technique.

If the first year analysts at my company make this mistake its strike 1 for them as its a pretty common misconception on what random sampling actually is. Apologies for not backing that statement up with reasoning, I got lazy as I explained it on another thread or two.

Would the probability of any poster being on the site on the given day in question not be the same?

Well no, most definitely and quite obviously not. I'm not suggesting Vish should have gone to lengths required to take a truly random sample because that is quite impossible for him to do on a forum like this with the resources at his disposal. I'm simply stating that he cannot infer from it that its representative of posters on this site as a whole. Again it might well reflect majority opinion by fluke, and most people might have been happy with their transfer business. But the nature of the sample isn't random by definition, and for me due to the tiny cross-section it represents is also not representative of that which he claims it to be. If he had said its little more than an indicator, I'd have said fair enough, but on a number of occasions he has suggested it to be an infallible poll, of which it is quite obviously not.

Any chance these stupid arguments couldn't ruin every thread? I mean I don't post much but.... come on..

Regards Markovic, it worried me how slow he looks. Thought he was a livewire, is this just a confidence thing?

Lallana will fit nicely into the team once things click into gear a little more.

When did I suggest that it was an infallible poll, are you mad or what?

Only a poll can sort this mess out Vish.

I agree and the sooner this issue is sorted the better looking forward to seeing the voting options

poll? nah.... fight! fight! fight!

Beware... stan speaks with vested interest. the sooner we get this sorted the sooner he can get back on to the topic of ...

Haha I have my ballot paper at the ready, even brought my own pen. Is that legit or do they have to be regulation approved by an independent committee?