Unit 4.5 - Measuring Public Opinion (Perusall)

What is the most reliable way to assess public opinion scientifically?

Through polling.

What does any type of poll usually entail?

A well-developed question(s) to a small, random group of people to find out what the larger group thinks.

What are public opinion polls?

It helps pollsters gain insights on issues or support for candidates in an election.

What are benchmark polls? When are they used?

They are usually the first type of poll used and help to measure support for a candidate and to gather information about issues people care about.

They are used before a potential candidate has declared his or her intentions.

What are tracking polls? When are they used?

They ask people questions to measure how voters feel about an issue and how they may vote on election day.

They are used during the course of an election campaign.

What are Entrance/Exit Polls? When are they used?

These polls help to gain insights about who people voted for on election day to predict the winner, to identify how demographics actually voted, and to gain insight in how people voted.

These polls are used on election day.

What is a focus group?

It’s a small group of people (10-40) that form to discuss opinions toward a topic. Pollsters can ask follow-up questions to these people and examine body language.

Example: Mitt Romney began wearing jeans because a focus group responded more positively to him in jeans than in formal clothes.

What does it mean when you Frame a question?

It’s when you post a question in a certain way that emphasizes a certain response/perspective.

EX: Researchers found that respondants had widely varying views on whether abortion should be legal depending on how the question was framed.

What’s the definition of sampling techniques? What happens when they are “proper?”

Sampling techniques is the WAY a study is captured or measured (like the type of survey used). When they are proper, they assure an accurate poll with fair representation of the population.

What is a representative sample?

It’s a group of people that represent the large group in question (called a universe).

What is a universe?

The “population” of something that’s being studied.

Example: total voters, all registered male voters

What is a random sample?

It’s when every single member o fhte universe (population) has an equal chance of being selected into the sample.

What’s one way to make telephone polling more reliable? What’s the purpose?

It’s to use random-digit dialing. This is when a computer randomly calls possible numbers in a given area until enough people respond to establish a representative sample. <— this is the purpose

What is weighting/stratification? Why do pollsters use it?

It’s when the sample is manipulated to compensate for uneven proportions, like demographics (more females than males). ← this is the WHY pollsters use it!

What is a sampling error? Does it exist in every poll? Only some?

It’s when the results of a poll differ from the actual opinions of the entire population. It happens in EVERY POLL.

This is also called the margin of error!

What two factors most contribute to samples not being perfectly representative?

Non-attitudes (people don’t have strong opinions on the issues today or are uninformed), and human bias.

What is push pulling?

It’s a type of polling that involves leading questions designed to sway respondents towards a particular viewpoint. HUMAN BIAS!!!