… [T]he Presidential-election season is in full swing. That also means that pollsters become, at least for a little while, some of the most important figures in our democracy. … If you were a pollster, what single question would you like to ask the American people? … Write your poll […] Read more »
Is the media too poll-obsessed?
… Joel Benenson, who tests the public opinion for the Obama campaign, thinks there’s an “obsession” with polling this election that makes poll reporting excessive and oftentimes inaccurate. … It’s a sentiment also shared by top Romney pollster Neil Newhouse, who said despite his many differences with Joel, the “generally […] Read more »
The man who explains politics in—and to—PA
When it comes to understanding the foundations of Keystone State politics—and how citizens process rhetoric and choose candidates—one name rises to the top. G. Terry Madonna, a professor and pollster at Franklin & Marshall College, is, for reporters (and readers and viewers) here, perhaps the most well-known—and, arguably, the most […] Read more »
Handicapping the Presidential Race: Watch the Samples and Weighting
It’s time for another caution about polls and what they mean. The most recent set of six CBS News/New York Times state polls conducted by Quinnipiac University and the latest Fox News national poll should remind us how important each survey’s sample is in understanding the ballot test. [cont.] Stuart […] Read more »
Facing 21st-Century Challenges in Survey Research
Conducting a representative survey of American adults is an increasingly difficult proposition. Of late, technological and social changes have conspired to increase the cost of reaching and soliciting opinion from the public. [cont.] Daniel Cox, Public Religion Research Institute Read more »
Sorry, Wrong Number
… The polling industry is clearly at a crossroads. In 2016, or 2020, telephone surveys may no longer be the prevailing way to measure what the public thinks or how it intends to vote. But all of the alternatives, for now, have significant drawbacks that put the industry in a […] Read more »