"Do you believe in the possibility of communicating with the dead directly or through séances, definitely, maybe, or not at all"
The question is worded in such a way that it could be interpreted to mean a variety of things. "Communication" could give the impression of chit-chat. Seances probably scare people off, since it is considered hokey or taboo or both. The problem is we don't know how each subset interpreted the question so we don't know what they were really responding to.
“Do you believe in the possibility of communicating…”
Good point – in the above question “possibility” is a key word. I believe that all things are possible. Some things are improbable.
When I was taking Sociology 320, Methods of Sociological Research, we learned what type of wording will skew the results of a study. The idea was that we would avoid using such wording (or if applying for a grant we could guarantee desired results?). We picked apart a lot of studies that should never have been published.
Looking back at this one, I don’t know if the question really would skew the results. If it was aimed at the average American student they probably don’t know the difference between “possible” and “probable”.