Harvard University Program on Survey Research

Pre-election polls are one of the most visible types of surveys in the news, at least around election time. Interested in better understanding the political polls this year? Here are some on-line resources to help guide you through sorting through the good and the bad.

• The American Association for Public Opinion Research is the main professional organization for public opinion researchers. They have put together a page of helpful information on pre-election polls. http://www.aapor.org/electionpollingresources2
• If you really want to learn how to interpret polls in the media, take the on-line course journalists take: “Understanding and Interpereting Polls.” This course by the Poynter Institute is targeted to journalists, but is free and available to anyone. http://www.newsu.org/courses/course_detail.aspx?id=aapor_polling07
• Mark Blumenthal of Pollster.com has a great set of FAQ’s.
• Rutgers Professor Cliff Zukin has a useful resource talking about pre-election polls: “Sources of Variation in Election Polls: A Primer” (Cliff Zukin). http://www.aapor.org/uploads/zukin_election_primer.pdf