When the order of items in the list is not important we apply?

Question development

There are several steps involved in developing a survey questionnaire. The first is identifying what topics will be covered in the survey. For Pew Research Center surveys, this involves thinking about what is happening in our nation and the world and what will be relevant to the public, policymakers and the media. We also track opinion on a variety of issues over time so we often ensure that we update these trends on a regular basis to better understand whether people’s opinions are changing.

At Pew Research Center, questionnaire development is a collaborative and iterative process where staff meet to discuss drafts of the questionnaire several times over the course of its development. We frequently test new survey questions ahead of time through qualitative research methods such asfocus groups, cognitive interviews, pretesting (often using anonline, opt-in sample), or a combination of these approaches. Researchers use insights from this testing to refine questions before they are asked in a production survey, such as on the ATP.

Measuring change over time

Many surveyors want to track changes over time in people’s attitudes, opinions and behaviors. To measure change, questions are asked at two or more points in time. A cross-sectional design surveys different people in the same population at multiple points in time. A panel, such as the ATP, surveys the same people over time. However, it is common for the set of people in survey panels to change over time as new panelists are added and some prior panelists drop out. Many of the questions in Pew Research Center surveys have been asked in prior polls. Asking the same questions at different points in time allows us to report on changes in the overall views of the general public (or a subset of the public, such as registered voters, men or Black Americans), or what we call “trending the data”.

When measuring change over time, it is important to use the same question wording and to be sensitive to where the question is asked in the questionnaire to maintain a similar context as when the question was asked previously (seequestion wordingandquestion orderfor further information). All of our survey reports include a topline questionnaire that provides the exact question wording and sequencing, along with results from the current survey and previous surveys in which we asked the question.

The Center’s transition from conducting U.S. surveys by live telephone interviewing to an online panel (around 2014 to 2020) complicated some opinion trends, but not others. Opinion trends that ask about sensitive topics (e.g., personal finances or attending religious services) or that elicited volunteered answers (e.g., “neither” or “don’t know”) over the phone tended to show larger differences than other trends when shifting from phone polls to the online ATP. The Center adopted several strategies for coping with changes to data trends that may be related to this change in methodology. If there is evidence suggesting that a change in a trend stems from switching from phone to online measurement, Center reports flag that possibility for readers to try to head off confusion or erroneous conclusions.

What is a priority list?

A priority list is a list that contains your priority items — the stuff that brings you closer to achieving your personal and professional goals.

Everyone has goals. Whether you want to lose weight or start a business, the first step to turning those dreams into reality is to get them down on paper.

The instinctual way to create a priority list might be with pen and paper. But when it comes to updating and maintaining it, you’re probably better off with something a little more advanced.

Keep in mind, digital does not have to mean difficult.

You can use a super-intuitive task management platform like monday.com to create and maintain your list of priorities in one place, in lieu of a crumpled post-it note.

Here’s an example of a priority list you can create on monday.com:

When the order of items in the list is not important we apply?
When the order of items in the list is not important we apply?

How you create your priority list comes down to personal preference. What’s important is you have a way to capture tasks and set priorities to make sure they stand out.

Lists: Bullets, Numbers, Capitalization, Punctuation

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To-do or not to do: The basics of to-doing

Not everyone runs on lists. However, if you’re struggling to make sense of your goals, a list could save you time, energy, and the need to come up with excuses for when the thing that needs to happen, well, doesn’t.

(If you have a word with Oskar Schindler, he’ll tell you that lists can also save lives.)

List-making is pretty personal. Some people border on obsessive about them. Organizing the bathroom can turn into a session of ticking off 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, rather than a freestyle shift-around between number 2s.

Others prefer less to-doing and fro-ing. They’d rather wing it, writing important telephone numbers on the backs of their hands or sticking Post-its to their leg, “Memento”-style.

However, even the most basic outline of the things you need to do can help you crush your goals and foes. Largely, your goals.

For one thing, the act of writing out a list forces us to set concrete goals (To-do: “Take out the trash.”). This can be way more effective than thinking about vague objectives (To-don’t: Get cleaner).

Plus, making a written list can help us remember important information (meaning that trash won’t sit in the kitchen for weeks, or that if it does, you won’t forget to charge it rent).Burack OR, et al. (1996). The effects of list-making on recall in young and elderly adults. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8673643

The problem is this: Not all lists are created equal.

Even those of us who have bumper stickers that read: “People who make to-do lists tick every box” might not know how to make a successful one. (That’s a terrible bumper sticker, BTW. If it’s real, and you actually have it, add “abandon your vehicle by the side of the road and set it aflame” to the very top of your to-do list.)

Luckily we’re here to help, with a step-by-step guide to creating — and completing — an awesome list of stuff to get done.