Public Opinion Polls

Flashcards covering the key vocabulary and concepts discussed in the lecture notes on public opinion polls.

Public Opinion Polls

Surveys of citizens that display the preferences and beliefs of the U.S. population or a subset; smaller set of controls of it.

Relevant Universe

Identifying the group of people whose responses will be used to estimate the views of the population of interest.

Representative Sample

Aims to be a microcosm of the population whose opinions are being measured, reflecting demographic and political characteristics of the target population.

Random Sampling

Each member of the target population has an equal chance of being chosen.

Weighting

Used to adjust the results to make sure the sample reflects the target population.

Social Desirability Bias

The idea that people may provide answers they believe are socially acceptable or 'right,' rather than their true beliefs.

Margin of Error

Estimates how close a poll result is to the actual population's opinions.