Political Compass? Mine points forward.

I just took this survey called the "Political Compass" (thanks, Ambrosia). I'm always up for political surveys and analysis, so I thought "Why not? I'm not doing anything... at work.... Anyway, I took the survey and encourage you to also; however, be warned--it takes a while.

http://www.politicalcompass.org/

It turns out I'm pretty moderate, which shouldn't be surprising. I am an equal opportunity Fed-Uppist. According to this survey, however, if I'm anything I'm left of center. Interesting? Not really. The questionnaire is poorly designed. Some examples:

1) Many of the questions were worded terribly. For example, one statement (to which there were only "Strongly Disagree," "Disagree," "Agree," or "Strongly Agree" options) read "No one can feel naturally homosexual." Okay, I understand what the point of the question is. The writers of the survey were probably trying to say "I believe that people can be born as homosexuals--it is not a choice." However, they did not say that. They asked about someone's personal feelings--and I have no doubt that there are many who feel that they are naturally homosexual; whether one can actually be born as a homosexual is a completely different issue. This is just one example of many poorly worded questions that skew results.

2) There were only four options (see #1): one could only agree or disagree, with varying levels. How about a middle option of "Undecided" or "It depends on the situation." When surveys don't have a middle option it is because the survey's creators don't want a cop-out option, which people probably use far too much. They want to force people into making a decision. Unfortunately, that decision doesn't necessarily reflect the person's views.

Solution: A more productive practice would be to include a question asking what everyone's perceived political persuasion is, rather than trying to tell them. This could get some really cool results back about what people who perceive themselves as liberals, conservatives, libertarians, or authoritarians (the four emphases in the survey) actually feel about specific issues.

Lastly, although I always support organizations that try to help people understand how they truly believe about politics, religion, or sports (don't underestimate the importance of sports opinions), I can never trust a survey with typos. But Im sure they meen well.