Mod. 5 Key Terms

Bandwagon Effect - when a voter’s opinion changes based on the popularity of the candidate or policy position in order to pick the “winner’s side”

Bradley Effect - when voters tell pollsters that they are undecided or likely to vote for a minority candidate but secretly vote against the minority candidate - highlights a difference between voter opinion polls and election outcomes

Exit Poll - a poll taken, by news media, of voters immediately after they have exited the polling stations which is usually used for predicting the winners

Leading Questions - questions that “suggest” the desired answer - example: “How much did you enjoy our fantastic event?”

Margin of Error - a statistic expressing the amount of random sampling error in the results of a survey; the larger margin of error, the less confidence one should have in those results

Public Opinion - a total of the individual views, attitudes, and beliefs about a particular topic expressed by a significant proportion of a community

Push Poll - an interactive marketing technique most commonly used during political campaigning in which an individual or organization attempts to influence potential voters’ views through the appearance of conducting an opinion poll

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

Scientific Poll - a method of measuring public opinion through structured surveys that use statistical techniques to ensure accuracy and representativeness

Straw Poll - an unofficial vote which is used to show the popular opinion on a certain matter - can be used to help politicians know the majority opinion and help them decide what to say in order to gain votes