Key Concepts in Political Socialization and Polling

Public opinion poll

A survey of a given population's opinion on an issue or a candidate at a particular point in time

Stratified sampling

A process of random sampling in which the national population is divided into fourths and certain areas within those regions are selected as representative of the national population

Political Socialization

process by which we develop our political values and opinions

Agents of Socialization

Individuals, organizations, and institutions that facilitate the acquisition of political views

Gender gap

the measurable difference in the way women and men vote for candidates and in the way they view political issues

Generational effect

the impact of an important external event in shaping the views of a generation

Public opinion

public's expressed views about an issue at a specific point in time

Random sampling

a scientific method of selection in which each member of the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample

Tracking polls

Polls that measure changes in public opinion over the course of days, weeks, or months by repeatedly asking respondents the same questions and measuring changes in their responses

Exit polls

polls conducted at polling places on Election day to project the winner of an election before the polls close

Population

in a poll, the group of people whose opinions are of interest and/or about whom information is desired

Quota sample

A method by which pollsters structure a sample so that it is representative of the characteristics of the target population

Sampling error

also called margin of error; a statistical calculation of the difference in results between a poll of a randomly drawn sample and a poll of the entire population

Push polls

A special type of poll that both attempts to skew public opinion about a candidate and provides information to campaigns about candidate strengths and weaknesses