A survey is useful, in spite of its limitations

I am actively using surveys in this blog. I find the results to be useful, as follows:

> It collects the views of a larger number of persons (instead of one person's views)
> Usually 25 replies are sufficient, as results are usually close to a larger sample
> The respondents are usually random and generally unbiased.

There are obvious limitations - hence the results have to be used with caution. Furthermore, it is important to phrase the questions fairly, so as to obtain useful answers.

Some people argue that it is important to select a proper sample. I agree, but this is costly and difficult to achieve. In the absense of this budget and luxury, a simple sample survey on the internet is better than nothing. As someone said, "knowledge is everything".

I wish to encourage people to use sample surveys to gather information for business and social decision.