Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1
Chapter 1: What Are Polls and Surveys and Why Are They Conducted? ……………………………………………………………………………. 13
Chapter 2: What Are Election Polls? How Are They Conducted? ………………………………………………………………………………………… 23
Chapter 3: How Do Political Candidates and Organizations User Poll Data? ……………………………………………………………………… 51
Chapter 4: How Do News Organizations Collect and Report Poll Data? …………………………………………………………………………….. 63
Chapter 5: Why Do Pollsters User Samples? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 75
Chapter 6: How Are Questionnaires Put Together? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 103
Chapter 7: How Are Data Gathered for Election Polls? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 127
Chapter 8: How Do Media Organizations Analyze Polls? …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 151
Chapter 9: How Can I Evaluate Published Poll Results? …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 163
Chapter 10: What Are Some Common Problems and Complaints about Polls and the Media’s Use of Them? …………………. 175
Epilogue
Appendix A: Standards for Disclosing Information about the Methodology of Public Polls ………………………………………………. 191
Appendix B: Sample Tolerances (Sampling Errors) for Samples of Different Sizes ……………………………………………………………. 197