United States Changed Since 9/11?,

¶ … United States changed since 9/11?," the respondents involved in the said poll are Internet users who, as the CNN states, "have chosen to participate" in the QuickVote. Thus, the poll's results are limited only to people who have access to the Internet and have come across the poll, or those Internet users who regularly access and participate CNN's QuickVote.

For this particular poll, the question asked was not clearly stated. By asking, "how has the United States changed since 9/11," the poll asks only a general question, and did not specifically cite on what area the country changed to since 9/11. That is, the question should have indicated whether the U.S. changed in terms of its economy, politics, state of society, among other things. A respondent may have been thinking about the U.S. economy when s/he answered this question, while another might have thought about the Iraq rehabilitation in the Middle East when s/he cast his vote in the poll. A more specific question would reflect a more accurate, reliable, and possibly honest answer about the issue being discussed/talked about.

As explained in the previous question, the question would have more clarity if it specifically asked a particular area on which the respondent can focus on. For example, the poll will specifically ask, "How has the U.S. changed economically since 9/11?" However, if CNN aims to tap into people's perceptions about changes in the U.S. In general, then the appropriate question to ask is, "Generally/on the overall, how has the U.S. changed since 9/11?" This question will reflect the people's perceptions about the general changes that happened within the country -- at least for those who are Internet users and have come across the CNN poll.

In addition to recommended changes regarding the poll question, the responses from which the respondents will choose are also limited in scope. When applied to the question, "Generally/on the overall, how has the U.S. changed since 9/11?" It is recommended that a rating scale of either 1-5 or 1-10 be provided to reflect the degree or level of improvement of the country. Responses that are nominal and limited, such as "For the better" and "For the worse" are not too absolute and definitive to fully describe the respondent's feelings and/or thoughts on the question/issue asked.

More than the majority of the respondents (81%) answered the U.S. has changed 'for the worse' since 9/11. This overwhelmingly large number of dissatisfied respondents, while providing readers with useful insights about Americans, should be assessed in terms of the sample's characteristics. That is, the general opinion formed from this poll came from individuals who have access to and are users of the Internet. This fact alone reflects a change in the sample's demographics, wherein the middle- to higher-class income respondents had more likely answered the said poll, and is, in effect, not representative of American society in general.

Responses given for the poll, as discussed earlier, were not clearly stated. The responses provided do not reflect absolutism and definitiveness. In fact, the use of "better" and "worse" in the responses show that they are not located at the opposite ends of the improvement spectrum, but rather, in the middle.

Assuming that the question was clearly understood as asking of U.S. In general or on the overall, the responses are to be interpreted as follows: "81% of CNN online pollers reported that the country has worsened since 9/11." Note that the sample is specifically stated and limited to CNN online pollers, in addition to the observation that the term "worsened" was not stated in levels or degrees from which the reader could possibly assess the country's improvement quantitatively.

Provided that I be asked the question, "On the overall, how has the U.S. changed since 9/11," I will respond to it unfavorably. And given a rating scale of improvement from 1 to 10 (10 being the best or most improved), I would rate U.S.'s level of improvement since 9/11 as "4," which reflects my response that it has worsened, but not to the extent that there had been no room for improvement at all ("1" rating).

Social work ethics are relevant because it allows practitioners to have a guideline in accomplishing their tasks and responsibilities for the society. This exercise showed an important aspect of social work ethics, which is transparency, honesty, and definitiveness when discussing a specific issue or concern relevant to the society.