Voters go ‘center-left’ on issues, but not on candidates

When it comes to issues and issue agendas, there is good news and bad news for Democrats in 2020 in the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. On the good news side of the ledger, there some key issues where voters seem supportive of left-leaning ideas and approaches. The bad […] Read more »

Why Americans Don’t Fully Trust Many Who Hold Positions of Power and Responsibility

People invest their trust in institutions and those who have power for a variety of reasons. Researchers have found that people’s confidence in others and organizations can include their judgments about the competence, honesty and benevolence of the organizations or individuals they are assessing, as well as factors such as […] Read more »

Citizens need to know numbers

… Numbers are often used to persuade rather than inform, statistical literacy needs to be improved, and so surely we need more statistics courses in schools and universities? Well, yes, but this should not mean more of the same. After years of researching and teaching statistical methods, I am not […] Read more »

Poll finds public support for school-based vaccination, but limited trust in vaccine safety and public health agencies

A new poll from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and SSRS finds that Americans broadly support (84%) requirements for parents to have children vaccinated against preventable diseases like measles, mumps, and rubella in order to attend school. But the poll also shows limited trust in vaccines and public […] Read more »