When you ask "Mexican food for dinner?" you're engaging in the most basic form of survey methodology—but as Dr. Philip Garland reveals, there's a profound science to questioning that shapes everything from presidential elections to product development.
Dr. Garland's remarkable journey began with a personal mission. As a freshman experiencing racism at University of Washington, he abandoned engineering aspirations to study political science and communications, determined to understand how media shapes perceptions. This path led through Stanford, groundbreaking dissertation research on racial attitudes, and ultimately to transforming SurveyMonkey from a basic tool into a sophisticated research platform.
The difference between amateur and professional questioning is striking. Simply adding "if any" to "How many movies have you seen this month?" dramatically changes responses by normalizing zero as an acceptable answer. This precision matters enormously: Dr. Garland controversially argues that the widely-used Net Promoter Score is "not worth the paper it's printed on" because fundamentally different data patterns can yield identical scores, potentially driving businesses to identical conclusions from vastly different customer feedback.
During the 2012 presidential election, Dr. Garland's team correctly predicted 48 of 50 states, helping legitimize online polling by leveraging SurveyMonkey's massive reach. Looking ahead, he sees AI dramatically improving survey efficiency while still requiring human responses: "No amount of data simulation can replace asking real human beings real questions."
Perhaps most concerning is how media fragmentation affects our political landscape. When people only encounter views reinforcing existing beliefs, meaningful dialogue becomes impossible. For entrepreneurs, proper survey methodology helps determine whether you're solving a problem for five people or five million—critical information before investing significant resources.
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This podcast is proudly sponsored by USC Annenberg’s Master of Science in Digital Media Management (MSDMM) program. An online master’s designed to prepare practitioners to understand the evolving media landscape, make data-driven and ethical decisions, and build a more equitable future by leading diverse teams with the technical, artistic, analytical, and production skills needed to create engaging content and technologies for the global marketplace. Learn more or apply today at https://dmm.usc.edu.