Rhetorical Analysis of “Sense and Nonsense about Surveys”

            Howard Schuman is a sociologist who graduated from Harvard University with a Ph.D. in sociology. He is recognized for his research in surveys, such as directing the survey research center at the University of Michigan. In his article “Sense and Nonsense about Surveys”, Howard Schumann provides the history of conducting surveys, the techniques used in conducting surveys, and identifying the flaws in such surveys. He states, “Understanding surveys is critical to being an informed citizen, but popular media often report surveys without any guidance to interpret them” (Schuman 40). His goal for the article is to inform readers to what extent are the surveys they are viewing correct and the methods from which such surveys are produced. To achieve this goal, Howard Schumann uses various rhetorical techniques such as structural elements, logical appeals, and formal language to inform readers about the various aspects of conducting a survey and its importance. In this paper, I will expand on the authors’ use of rhetorical techniques as mentioned and also provide the context/purpose and intended audience of the authors’ article.

            The reason for the author to write this article about surveys is because surveys play a major role in determining what certain populations think about various topics like health, education, and science, etc. In today’s society, within the U.S, people are provided many surveys about many important topics like global warming and health care, etc. Howard Schuman emphasizes the use of surveys by stating, “learning about one’s environment by examining a small part of it, is the sampling aspect of surveys. A taste of something may or may not point to appetizing food” (Schuman 40). The author uses logical appeal to make readers understand that surveys are a means of learning about one’s environment. Howard Schumann is a sociologist and survey conductor which is why he wrote this article to expand on the importance of gathering information through surveys.

            The intended audiences of the author are people from the U.S, in college or older and peers who are in the author’s field, which is survey research. The author targets U.S audiences due to the fact that he provides his survey examples which are based on the events and topics in the U.S. In order to engage with the reading, audiences should be aware that the article belongs to a genre of scholarly articles, aimed at people interested in the subject or working in the field of the subject, which is surveys. The article does not have personal narratives but is instead based on facts and research. The responses of the audience may vary based upon the section that they are reading, for example, the author starts by providing a historical survey result which was based upon sending out 10 million questionnaires but ultimately proved to be wrong, whereas a smaller survey on the same topic was successful. The author uses pathos to evoke a surprising feeling in the reader which functions to grab their attention to continue reading and understanding why asmaller survey predicted a better outcome than a survey conducted on a larger scale.

            One of the rhetorical techniques the author uses is structuring the article to make his readers understand the topic. Howard Schumann structures the article to have a clear narrative of informing the reader about surveys. The structure contains context, history, methods of conducting surveys, identifying the flaws in survey sampling, and solutions to improve the field of conducting surveys. The intro explains the meaning of conducting research. The author states, “Asking questions continues to be an effective way of acquiring information of all kinds, assuming of course that the person answering is able and willing to respond accurately” (Schuman 40). Every person asks questions out of interest, hence the author makes the reader relate to the topic by stating that their action of asking questions is very meaningful. The author uses pathos to create this feeling of meaningfulness to the topic in the reader’s mind. The structure of the article then proceeds to provide historical context about surveys and the techniques which are developed in the past. The author uses ethos in this latter section of the article by stating credible sources about survey techniques, as stated, “Gallup and other commercial pollsters did not use the probability sampling methods that were being developed in the same decades” (Schuman 40). The author introduces Gallup, a well-known scientist in the field of surveys and mentions the techniques he used. Thus, making use of pathos allows the reader to be more confident proceeding forward about the various techniques used in surveys. As the reader progresses through each article structure, they can comprehend the topic of surveys and reach the goal of understanding the surveys through exploring the techniques mentioned in the article, which is the goal of the author.

            Howard Schumann also uses logical appeals to criticize surveys and inform readers about bad sampling and questions in surveys. In the article“Sense and Nonsense about Surveys” it states:

            The author uses pathos to engage the reader in the study findings because it is dealing with a serious issue across the U.S, which is abortion, and people have different opinions about it. However, amidst the emotions of the reader, the author also brings logical reasoning to shed light on the fact that often survey questions can be flawed and being able to identify such flaws is the goal of the author for the reader.

            Lastly, the author uses formal language because it is a scholarly article that is read by peers but also because it is not personal rather factual based. Using formal language allows the author to write sentences longer where each point is clearly stated. Using formal language also shines a sense of professionalism on the authors part and makes the readers more confident in the article, thus it is another way of using ethos to credit the author.

            In conclusion, Howard Schuman aimed to make readers understand more about survey research processes. He accomplished this goal through the use of various rhetorical techniques as described in this paper, such as structuring the article, using logical appeals, and writing informal language. All theses techniques served to make the readers enjoy and comprehend the goal of the article in its fullest. The structural component made it easier for readers to follow a distinct narrative which flowed continuously, the logical appeals made the reader more knowledgeable about the topic of surveys and the formal language added credibility to the author for being professional.