Measuring public views is a direct reflection of their demands. Opinion polls collect responses of random people within a social group which was previously chosen. Many polls are conducted on the large scale so that people of numerous social groups must be studied. Opinion polls are the only way to reflect the moods and demands of as many people as possible. Different national structures such as law enforcement, government, or healthcare frequently function on their own. Federal structures do not have a clue about the influence of their actions or policies on the broad society unless they do not have a statistics based on polls.
Opinion polls are conducted either per telephone or face-to-face. Alternative ways of measuring public opinion such as e-mail and online are also widely used today. “In-person” interviews are usually conducted in public places. Interviewers choose random people and record their responses to the questionnaire. Polls conducted per telephone and e-mail can be even more representative than face-to-face interviews because it is quicker and easier for people to fill in an online form. On the other hand, polls conducted on radio and television are not representative as they reflect opinions of a limited audience which cannot be generalized to the population scale.
Public opinion polls are essential when there is an urgent need to have a look at the spirit of the society or monitor the changes. Polls are especially frequent when presidential elections approach. Organizations which conduct political polls use mathematical methods to collect responses from the most vivid groups of the electorate. Though not many people are actually asked, political polls tend to provide a faithful picture of electoral likings.