Recent Publications

PewResearch.org features major reports, data-driven commentary and analysis, news stories, transcripts and presentations on trends in public opinion and related policy issues in the Pew Research Center's areas of special concentration: U.S. public opinion, global attitudes, the news media, the impact of the internet on American life, the role of religion in public life, the changing experiences of Hispanics in America and social and demographic trends.

When the material resides on project sites, summaries appear on the PewResearch.org site, with links to the full documents on the particular project web site. The archive of past reports and other features include material posted directly on pewresearch.org beginning in February 2006. Complete lists of all project reports and other features, including archives of material released prior to February 2006, can be found on the individual project websites.

Post-Summit, More See Health Reform Passing
News About Job Situation Still Seen as Mostly Bad
10 Mar 10Belief that a bill will pass is on the rise, but still a minority opinion. Americans are still hearing mostly bad news about jobs.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Deficit Concerns Rise, But Solutions Are Elusive
GOP's Lead on Handling Deficit Mirrors '94
10 Mar 10While an increasing number of Americans cite addressing the government's red ink as a priority, there is not much support for spending cuts, regardless of party.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

It's All Politics
9 Mar 10The media's agenda (health care, Sen. Bunning, midterm elections and political scandals) was centered in the nation's capital.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Food Fight: Blogs Talk Hot Dogs
4 Mar 10A proposed warning about the potential health hazards of hot dogs triggered an impassioned backlash among bloggers.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Restoring America's Reputation in the World
4 Mar 10Pew Global Attitudes surveys chronicled the rise of anti-Americanism around the world for much of the past decade and its sharp recession in many countries following the election of President Barack Obama. However, this improving trend may be more fragile than it would be if it had been based on views of his specific policies.
Pew Global Attitudes Project

Census History: Counting Hispanics
3 Mar 10Despite the long history of Hispanic residents in the United States, there was no systematic effort to count this group separately in the Census until the late 20th century. An analysis of changes in Census question wording over recent decades reveals the challenges in trying to count and describe this fast-growing population.
Social & Demographic Trends and Pew Hispanic Center

Public Focuses on Health Care and Olympics
Modest Rise in Expectation That Health Care Reform Will Pass
3 Mar 10Following the White House health care summit about a third of Americans think reform will pass this year, up from 27% before the meeting.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Summing Up the Summit
2 Mar 10The spectacle of a televised bipartisan meeting made health care the media's top story, especially on partisan talk shows.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Support for Alternative Energy and Offshore Drilling
2 Mar 10Americans strongly favor increased funding for research on wind, solar and hydrogen technology and more spending on mass transit, but majorities also support offshore drilling and nuclear power. Half have heard nothing at all about "cap and trade."
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

The New News Landscape: Rise of the Internet
Understanding the Participatory News Consumer
1 Mar 10The overwhelming majority of Americans use multiple platforms to get news, and the internet has surpassed newspapers and radio in popularity as a platform, ranking just behind TV. News is also becoming more of a shared experience. More than 8 in 10 online news consumers get or share links in emails.
Project for Excellence in Journalism and Pew Internet & American Life Project

"Climate-Gate" Re-Ignites the Blogosphere Debate
25 Feb 10Blogs once again fixated on one of its most popular topics, global warming, following a BBC interview with Phil Jones, the scientist at the center of the so-called "Climate-gate" controversy.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Sports Centered
Winter Olympics Tops Public's News Interests
24 Feb 10The Winter Olympics proved to be the public's top story, while Americans' favorite water-cooler topic was Tiger Woods.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

The Millennials: Confident. Connected. Open to Change.
24 Feb 10A new national survey focuses on American teens and twenty-somethings who are making the passage into adulthood at the start of a new millennium. These young people have begun to forge their generational personality: confident, self-expressive, liberal, upbeat and open to change.
Pew Research Center

Favorability Ratings of Labor Unions Fall Sharply
23 Feb 10Favorable views of labor unions have plummeted since 2007, amid growing public skepticism about unions' purpose and power. Currently, 41% say they have a favorable opinion of labor unions while about as many (42%) express an unfavorable opinion.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

In a Diverse Week, Stimulus Debate Drives the News
23 Feb 10Fueled by the one-year anniversary of the economic stimulus package, the U.S. economy led the news agenda last week, topping the Olympics, Afghanistan, Bayh, Stack and Woods.
Pew Research Center

Details About The Statistical Analysis Behind The Quiz
23 Feb 10
Pew Research Center

How We Created the Quiz -- and Computed Your Score
23 Feb 10The methodology behind the Pew Research Center's "How Millennial Are You?" Quiz.
Pew Research Center

Democrats' Gloom and Doom Is Premature
22 Feb 10While there is every reason to believe that the party is in trouble and will lose seats this year, there are no solid data that would justify a view shared by many here in Washington that the Democrats are destined to lose control of the House.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Does Google Make Us Stupid?
19 Feb 10Experts and stakeholders say the internet will enhance -- not degrade -- our intelligence. It will also change the functions of reading and writing and be built around still-unanticipated gadgetry and applications.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

Bloggers to Content Providers: Keep It Free or We Will Flee
18 Feb 10Social media last week dove into the debate over free versus pay online content. Sparked by Warner Music's plan to favor Web sites that charge users, bloggers answered in force: We oppose it! Google Buzz also drew bad buzz.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Democrats' Edge Among Millennials Slips
A Pro-Government, Socially Liberal Generation
18 Feb 10The "Millennial Generation" of young voters played a big role in the resurgence of the Democratic Party in the 2006 and 2008 elections, but their attachment to the Democratic Party weakened markedly over the course of 2009.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Haiti, Snowstorms, Economy Vie for Public's Attention
17 Feb 10Seven-in-ten say the media gave the right amount of coverage to the fierce winter snow storms that hit the East Coast and the South.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Blizzard of Snow Coverage
17 Feb 10Debates over government efficiency and climate change joined more traditional coverage of local correspondents battling the elements.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Religion Among the Millennials
Less Religiously Active but Fairly Traditional in Other Ways
17 Feb 10By some key measures, such as affiliation with a particular faith or regular attendance at religious services, Americans ages 18 to 29 are considerably less religious than older Americans. But by other measures such as beliefs about life after death and the existence of heaven, hell and miracles they closely resemble their elders.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Bloggers Press Hot-Button Topics
Abortion and Gay Rights Talk Online
12 Feb 10The conversation online focused on Tim Tebow's anti-abortion commercial and gay rights -- with John McCain and the pope targeted for criticism.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

The Prisoner Dilemma
12 Feb 10Should the Census count inmates in the areas where they are incarcerated or try to link them to their hometowns?
Social & Demographic Trends

Midterm Election Challenges for Both Parties
Obama's Ratings Are Flat, Wall Street's Are Abysmal
12 Feb 10Opinions of the Republican Party have improved significantly but still far more people blame the GOP for the poor economy than blame the Democrats. Anti-incumbent sentiment runs high: three-in-ten don't want to see their current representative reelected. Financial institutions remain a major target of public anger.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Surplus of Deficit Coverage
11 Feb 10For the first time in nearly two months, coverage of the economy led the news agenda, driven by Obama's release of his $3.8 trillion budget.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Strong Public Interest in Haiti Aftermath
Press Gets Good Marks For Covering Toyota Troubles
11 Feb 10Controversial topics at home -- Toyota's recall, gays in the military, the Tea Party convention -- could not compete with devastation abroad for the public's attention.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Monkey Business Online
4 Feb 10Apple's new iPad and a film shot by chimpanzees beat out the president's speech in social media.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Millennials' Lukewarm Support For Health Care Bills
Many Are Uninsured Yet Most Are Unengaged
4 Feb 10A third of Millennials lack health care insurance, and their support for health care reform exceeds that of older generations, but they have tuned out of the debate in Washington.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Mixed Views of Hamas and Hezbollah in Largely Muslim Nations
Little Enthusiasm for Many Muslim Leaders
4 Feb 10A survey of Muslims in eight countries and the Palestinian territories finds little enthusiasm for the extremist Islamic organizations, little support for Muslim political leaders and the widespread perception of a Sunni-Shia conflict. Most Muslims are also convinced there is a struggle between modernization and fundamentalists, and publics overwhelmingly support educating girls and boys equally.
Pew Global Attitudes Project

Haiti Remains Public's Main Concern
3 Feb 10While the media focus shifted to Obama and his speech before Congress, public attention remained on Haiti.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Social Media & Mobile Internet Use Among Teens and Young Adults
3 Feb 10While the overall internet population expanded continuously over the past decade, Millennials continue to be the most likely age group to go online (93% now use the internet). However, their use of blogs, Twitter and social networking sites has changed in recent years.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

SOTU Puts Obama Center Stage
2 Feb 10The president was the predominant figure in more stories last week than at any time since his inauguration.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Inviting Centrists to the Tea Party
1 Feb 10The Tea Party movement may well attract more supporters as it becomes better known although divisions among Republicans and independents' wariness of political extremes may limit its growth.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Olympics Bridge Gender Divide In Sports Interest
1 Feb 10This month's Winter Olympics will be a rare sporting event in at least one respect: As many women as men say they are especially looking forward to the winter games.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Almost All Millennials Accept Interracial Dating and Marriage
1 Feb 10Compared with older groups, particularly Americans ages 50 or older, younger Americans are significantly more likely to be accepting of interracial marriage and are more likely to have friends of a different race.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and Social & Demographic Trends

Twitter And YouTube Continue Focus On Haiti While Blogs Move On
28 Jan 10After playing a large role in promoting activism and fundraising in the wake of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, various components of the social media community moved in different directions last week.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Public Knowledge: Senate Legislative Process a Mystery to Many
Political News IQ Update
28 Jan 10In the latest Pew Research News IQ Quiz, Americans answered on average fewer than six out of 12 questions correctly. The public struggled with most of the political questions, and despite expressing strong interest in the health care debate, few know how many votes it takes to break a filibuster or how many GOP votes the bill got in the Senate.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Conducting the 2010 Census
26 Jan 10Director of the U.S. Bureau of the Census Robert Groves discusses the operational flow of the 2010 Census, design features intended to increase participation, the bureau's communications campaign, real-time monitoring/management, and evaluation of the quality of the census.
Social & Demographic Trends

It's All About Jobs, Except When It's Not
Unemployment and Presidential Approval Ratings 1981-2009
26 Jan 10A look at the connection between the rise and fall of joblessness and the political fortunes of past presidents in the modern era is instructive although the lessons to be drawn are far from crystal clear. Thus far, only Ronald Reagan’s ratings in his first term have borne as close a connection as have Obama’s to changes in the unemployment rate.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Health Care Reform Now Seen on Life Support
Public Still Following Haiti News Closely
26 Jan 10The public’s take on the chances that health care legislation will be enacted this year shifted dramatically after Scott Brown’s Jan. 19 victory in Massachusetts. About two-thirds (67%) now say they do not think a health care reform bill will be passed into law this year.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

A Brief History of Religion and the U.S. Census
26 Jan 10Public debate over the propriety, merit and feasibility of the Census Bureau asking questions about religion has waxed and waned over many decades with religious groups, civil liberty groups, social scientists and the Census Bureau's own staff divided over the issue.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Cable Nets Split on Haiti and Politics
26 Jan 10CNN, which doesn't air ideologically oriented talk shows in prime time, broadcast almost three times as many stories originating from Haiti as did Fox News and MSNBC combined, both of which focused on the Massachusetts election.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

The Public's Political Agenda
25 Jan 10Strengthening the nation's economy and improving the job situation continue to top nation's priority list. However, shifts have occurred on the priority give to two issues: energy (down) and the budget deficit (up). Extremely large partisan gaps exist on the importance of health care and global warming.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Social Media Provide First-Hand Accounts, Direct Action on Haiti
21 Jan 10New media not only reported on Haiti, but were used as calls to action. According to CNN, the use of social media helped raise $8 million by the end of the week.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Michelle Obama's Strong Personal Image
Views of Recent First Ladies
21 Jan 10The first lady is more popular than either her husband or her two immediate predecessors.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Haiti Dominates Public's Consciousness
Nearly Half Have Donated or Plan to Give
20 Jan 10Not only is the public closely tracking news from Haiti, 18% report they or someone in their household made a donation to those affected by the earthquake -- many using the internet or other technology -- while another 30% say they plan to donate. The Obama administration gets high marks for its response to the disaster.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Most View Census Positively, But Some Have Doubts
Age, Education, Ethnic and Partisan Gaps
20 Jan 10Most Americans think the census is very important and say they will definitely participate, but there are partisan as well as racial and ethnic differences in opinions about the values of the census and in personal willingness to participate.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press