The Iowa caucuses are arguably the most difficult assignment for any pollster. That is because relatively few people attend them, and people can, and do, change their minds in the caucus room. … Next year, a lot will change. The Iowa Democratic Party is finalizing rules that will add a […] Read more »
Do most Americans believe in climate change? The answer is more complicated than you might think.
… So how many Americans believe that climate change is caused by human activities? The answer is surprisingly complicated. … We find that minor and seemingly arbitrary differences in the way public opinion researchers ask questions about climate change can have major effects on their findings. CONT. Matt Motta, Dan […] Read more »
Russians don’t trust Putin as much as they did last year. And they don’t trust other politicians, either.
This week, Russian news reported that trust in President Vladimir Putin fell to its lowest level in 13 years. Or did it? A monthly poll collected by the Kremlin-friendly polling organization WCIOM has long asked Russians, “Among politicians, who would you trust and who would you not trust to make […] Read more »
A New Look At Ideology
Over the last few months in focus groups we have started hearing respondents make important distinctions between candidates they deem “liberal” and those they see as “progressive.” The latter are described as being “forward-thinking” and “ahead of the curve,” while more traditional liberals often viewed as a thing of the […] Read more »
A Consumer Guide to Polls
… There is no such thing as a perfect poll. If there were, it would include only people who are going to vote in the election of interest, and the sample would match their demographics precisely, both overall and within subgroups. That won’t happen because there is no way of […] Read more »
People lie about going to church and aren’t sure what “rural” means: Highlights from the latest in public opinion research
This past weekend, the smart folks who try to figure out what the hell we’re thinking at any given moment gathered in Toronto for the annual conference of the American Association for Public Opinion Research. The jobs of pollsters and journalists don’t have a perfect overlap — mostly, we like […] Read more »