Final answer:
General Electric creates a mail-response list by collecting personal information from customers via registration forms included with their products. This list is used for marketing efforts and can be sold to other companies. Pollsters and other entities employ various data collection methods to gather demographic information or opinions for targeted strategies or assessment.
Step-by-step explanation:
When General Electric includes an owner registration form with its products and asks customers for personal information, they create a database which can be classified as a mail-response list. This list is then used for direct marketing purposes, like sending out promotions, and could also be sold to other companies for their marketing campaigns. Such a list is a valuable asset for a company as it contains information about customers' demographics which can be used to tailor specific marketing strategies to target audiences. Additionally, while polling, companies like Gallup may use random-digit-dialing (RDD) to generate phone numbers, ensuring a random and therefore representative sample of respondents is reached.
Various methods are used by different entities to gather data for different purposes. An electronics chain store might collect data directly in-store to understand customer demographics, while a public library might use a tally method to determine the proportion of users who are children. Political parties could use random selection from phone directories to gauge voters' reactions after events such as debates.