Methods 101: What are nonprobability surveys?
Our latest Methods 101 video explores some of the ways these surveys differ from traditional probability-based polls.
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Can we still trust polls?
Donald Trump’s victory in 2016 and the U.K. “Brexit” decision rattled public confidence in polls. Our new video explains why well-designed polls can be trusted.
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Methods 101: Survey Question Wording
The second video in Pew Research Center’s Methods 101 series helps explain question wording – a concept at the center of sound public opinion survey research – and why it’s important.
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Q&A: Pew Research Center’s president on key issues in U.S. polling
Read a Q&A with Michael Dimock, president of Pew Research Center, on recent developments in public opinion polling and what lies ahead.
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Methods 101: Random Sampling
The first video in Pew Research Center’s Methods 101 series helps explain random sampling – a concept that lies at the heart of all probability-based survey research – and why it’s important.
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A basic question when reading a poll: Does it include or exclude nonvoters?
Opinion polls in the U.S. can address the same topic yet reach very different results. There are several reasons this can happen, but we tackle one of the most basic: Did the poll include or exclude the 45% who didn’t vote in November?
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Oversampling is used to study small groups, not bias poll results
As oversampling and its possible effect on presidential polls are spotlighted ahead of Election Day, learn more about this practice and how pollsters adjust for it.
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5 key things to know about the margin of error in election polls
Some of the better-known statistical rules of thumb that a smart consumer might think apply in polls are more nuanced than they seem. In other words, as is so often the case in life, it’s complicated.
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Flashpoints in Polling
Many people wonder: Can polls be trusted? The following essay contains a big-picture review of the state of polling, organized around a number of key areas.
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