File talk:Leading presidential candidate 2012 by state Obama Romney.svg

"New" vs. "old" polls

Could the author please state what is "old" polling data and what is "new" polling data on this and the other three maps? Thanks. Magog the Ogre (talk) 14:10, 31 March 2012 (UTC)

And I notice that we're now having reverts being done of "not following the standard" while "the standard" is never given. Magog the Ogre (talk) (contribs) 14:30, 20 July 2012 (UTC)

[citation needed]

Where are the sources for this map? What is being used to determine a statistical tie? This map does not match to the article corresponding to it. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 21:59, 25 October 2012 (UTC)

You are welcome to Be Bold and update the image to match the even-updating poll data in the article. The definition of "statistical tie" has been debated in the talk page for the article. You are more than welcome to add your voice to the discussion there. --Nick2253 (talk) 00:45, 26 October 2012 (UTC)

Boldness here requires rudimentary competence in image editing, which I regrettably lack. The sources and methodology should be clearly stated in the file description. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 15:26, 26 October 2012 (UTC)

If I knew how to update the map I would more regularly the fact is that there are just enough people doing it and as a result the map is lagging. We only have 10 or so more days so there wont be a need for many more updates and encourage those who know how to update the map to do so. - 76.28.12.156 17:29, 26 October 2012 (UTC)

I've fixed it now. Do you still spot any errors? --Noname224 (talk) 15:54, 3 November 2012 (UTC)

Actually, there's quite a few. The margin of error works on both candidate's percentages. It's not enough for the difference of the percentages to be greater than the margin of error. I've discussed this at the Talk page referenced above. --Spiffy sperry (talk) 04:59, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

I find that the map becomes quite useless when we double count the margin of error. Not only will all swing states be shown as a tie, but some solid states will as well. No one believes that Romney might win Oregon, or that Obama might win South Carolina. I don't believe it's standard practice for the media to double count the margin of error when reporting polls. --Noname224 (talk) 18:23, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

Simply put, Wikipedia is not "the media". Usefullness or belief are not part of the equation when just reporting what is in the polls. It's not double counting the margin of error that has been the standard of practice for this map, it's correctly interpreting what the margin of error actually means and applying it at face value. For instance, if a candidate's lead is 4.0% and the reported margin of error is 3.5%, the state is not solid for that candidate, statistically speaking, unless you use less than 90% confidence. If the media wants to analyze the polls, that does not require us to do the same. --Spiffy sperry (talk) 15:52, 5 November 2012 (UTC)