Good Poll? Bad Poll? Webinar to Help You Judge Accuracy of Election Polls

Accuracy of Election Polls

Poynter's News University and the American Association for Public Opinion Research to Host Webinar on How to Measure Credibility of Election Polls

News Release

September 9, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.- To help the public, press and politicians understand how presidential election polls work and how to interpret poll results, the American Association for Public Opinion Research (www.AAPOR.org) and The Poynter Institute's e-learning site, News University (www.newsu.org), have teamed up to offer a one-hour Webinar on Thursday, September 18. The Webinar, Understanding and Interpreting Polls in the 2008 Election, will begin at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Access to the live Webcast and the archived Web recording costs $24.95 (www.newsu.org/2008ElectionPolls).

“This low-cost is event is for anyone with a stake in the 2008 election. Participants will learn how to decipher the data in election polls, how 'similar' polls can produce different results, and how to go beyond the 'horse race' numbers,†said Howard Finberg, director of interactive learning, The Poynter Institute.

The Webinar will feature a live audio and slideshow presentation in which participants can post questions and respond to poll questions posed by the host, Claudia Deane. Deane, associate director for public opinion and survey research at the Kaiser Family Foundation, will present on behalf of AAPOR.

A computer with Internet access and a telephone line are required to join the presentation. For more information and to register, go to www.newsu.org/2008ElectionPolls.

About the American Association for Public Opinion Research

The American Association for Public Opinion Research (www.AAPOR.org) is the leading professional organization of public opinion and survey research professionals in the U.S., with members from academia, media, government, the non-profit sector and private industry.

About NewsU @ The Poynter Institute

News University (www.newsu.org ) is the e-learning home for more than 79,000 journalists, educators and students in 200 countries around the world. NewsU offers more than 65 focused, interactive courses that appeal to journalists at all levels of experience and in all types of media. Many courses take just an hour or two to complete and most are free. NewsU is funded by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The program is a project of The Poynter Institute, a leader in journalism training. Each year, Poynter conducts seminars in leadership and management; reporting, writing and editing; broadcast and online; ethics and diversity; and visual journalism.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT

Howard Finberg, Director, Interactive Learning
News University/The Poynter Institute
Phone: 1-888-POYNTER (1-888-769-6837)
E-mail: hfinberg@poynter.org

Kristin Povilonis
AAPOR Executive Office
913-895-4601
aapor-info@goamp.com