We see a lot of community organizations trying to measure local trends via online surveys. Their samples are self-selected, meaning anyone who wants to take the survey can. There’s one problem - it doesn’t tell us anything about trends, except those among people who are likely to self-select to take that survey. True sampling is a specific, scientific process that is often not followed in the North Country. It is especially troubling when these well-meaning organizations attempt to use these biased results to sway public policy.