Search for:
Member Login
How to Access Our New Online Portal
My Profile
Renew Your Membership
AAPORnet Listserv
Membership Directory
Retrieve Password
Logout
The leading association
of public opinion and
survey research professionals
American Association for Public Opinion Research
My AAPOR
+
How to Access Our New Online Portal
My Profile
Renew Your Membership
AAPORnet Listserv
Membership Directory
Retrieve Password
Logout
Membership
+
Join AAPOR
Membership Options
Online Dues Renewal
Online Member Application
Volunteer
Chapters
Midwest (MAPOR)
New England (NEAAPOR)
New York (NYAAPOR)
Pacific (PAPOR)
Pennsylvania-New Jersey (PANJAAPOR)
Southern (SAPOR)
Washington, DC (DC-AAPOR)
Affinity Groups
AAPI Research & Affinity Group
Cross-cultural and multilingual research affinity group
Establishment Survey Researcher Affinity (ESRA) Group
GAAPOR
HISP-AAPOR
QUALPOR
Survey Research Teaching Affinity and Interest Group
Membership Directory
For Students
Graduate Degree Programs
Sudman Student Paper Competition
Membership Research
Publications/Media
+
AAPOR Publications
Public Opinion Quarterly
JSSAM
Survey Practice
Standard Definitions
Reports
AAPOR Newsletter
Newsletter Archives
AAPOR Press Releases
Archived Press Releases
AAPOR Statements
Use of AAPOR Logo
Conference/Events
+
View Calendar
COVID-19 Workshop Series
Annual Conference
AAPOR Swag Shop
Upcoming Conferences
SurveyFest
Past Conferences
2022 Annual Conference Recap
AAPOR Awards
2022 Award Winners
2021 Award Winners
AAPOR Award
Book Award
Inclusive Voices Award
Warren J. Mitofsky Innovators Award
Policy Impact Award
Public Service Award
Seymour Sudman Student Paper Competition
Roper Fellow Award
Student Conference Award
AAPOR Returning Member Travel Award
Student Poster Award
The Student-Faculty Diversity Pipeline Award
Monroe G. Sirken Award
Harkness Student Paper Competition
Standards/Ethics
+
AAPOR Code of Professional Ethics and Practices
Disclosure Standards
Survey Disclosure Checklist
Schedule of Procedures for Code Violations
Transparency Initiative
What is the TI?
How to Join the TI
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the TI help the public evaluate and understand survey-based and other research findings?
Educational Materials
Contact the TICC
Institutional Review Boards
AAPOR Guidance for IRBs and Survey Researchers
IRB FAQs for Survey Researchers
Consent
Additional IRB Resources
Standard Definitions
Response Rate Calculator
Condemned Survey Practices
RDD Phone Survey Introduction
Best Practices for Survey Research
Report an AAPOR Code Violation
Education/Resources
+
Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
Election Polling Resources
Online Education/Webinars
Webinars
My Webinars
Purchase Recordings
AAPOR Webinar Package FAQs
AAPOR Webinar Kits
Institutional Subscriptions
Webinars FAQ
Insights Professional Certification
AAPOR-JPSM Citation Program
AAPOR-JPSM Citation Registration
Reports
Career Center
For Researchers
For Media
Response Rate Calculator
About Us
+
Leadership
Executive Council
Committees and Taskforces
Executive Council Meeting Minutes
Past Presidents
Annual Reports
History
Heritage Interviews
A Meeting Place and More
"Back in the Olden Days"
Presidential Addresses
AAPOR Archives Highlights
AAPOR Interactive Timeline sponsored by NORC
T-Shirt Contest Winners
Who We Are
Mission & Goals
Bylaws (as amended October 21, 2020)
Strategic Plan
Diversity
AAPOR Conduct Policy
Donate/Gifts to AAPOR
Planned Giving
Become an AAPOR Sponsor
Conference Exhibits and Sponsorships
Year-round AAPOR Sponsorship Opportunities
Sustaining Sponsorship Program
Career Center
In Memoriam
Staff/Contact Us
Privacy Policy
Terms and Conditions of Use
Procedures for Requesting Removal of Infringing Material
Home
—>
Publications/Media
—>
AAPOR Press Releases
—>
Archived Press Releases
AAPOR Releases Election Polling Resources for 2016 Elections
CHICAGO, IL (January 29, 2016)
- With this year’s unusually contentious presidential race comes an unusually loud chorus of criticism about the accuracy and impact of election polling. New polling techniques and unfamiliar terms — “herding,” “non-probability sampling,” “aggregators” — only add to the confusion of the poll-watching public and increase skepticism about the current state of the profession.
The American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR), the leading professional association of public opinion researchers, is poised to meet these challenges with reliable information drawn from scholarly research and from the expertise of the country’s leading survey practitioners.
AAPOR has assembled a library of objective, fact-based election briefs on the latest polling topics written by some of the foremost polling authorities. These short, reader-friendly summaries are meant to clarify and demystify critical election topics such as sample selection, identifying likely voters, the use of “credibility intervals,” how to identify a push poll, and what is “herding.” Check them out
here
.
AAPOR President Mollyann Brodie (Senior VP
, Public Opinion and Survey Research, Kaiser Family Foundation) is leading this educational outreach effort. She already has spoken to dozens of major media outlets on topics, including the use of polls to determine candidates in presidential debates, why even the best polls sometimes differ and the impact of declining survey response rates. Brodie also has assembled a group of experts, including leading academics and private pollsters, who are available to quickly answer media questions about polling.
An important part of this effort is to tell an old story again…and again. Despite headline-grabbing claims to the contrary, studies continue to show that the average error rate in candidate preference polls by the leading survey organizations was less than 3 percentage points in 2014. Here’s the real headline: The accuracy of election surveys has been virtually
unchanged
over the past 20 years.
Some polls will likely fail. The proliferation of pre-election polls using a wide variety of methodologies, some less rigorous than others, makes it expected that a few high-profile mistakes will occur. We urge the media and the public to not lose focus on the usefulness of pre-election polling and to ask questions about methodology when they disseminate and consider poll data. Because methodology matters but is often not understood, AAPOR has created an
election resources
page on its website. These resources can help journalists, the general public, and other decision makers understand how to evaluate polls and, more broadly, appreciate the considerable strengths but real limitations of public opinion polling. AAPOR leads the industry in encouraging public pollsters to be fully transparent in their methods and highlighting the work of those who are. Read about AAPOR’s Transparency Initiative. See the list of TI charter members
here
.
In this deeply polarized election climate AAPOR remains committed to being the primary source of objective information on all facets of the polling profession and expert commentary on the practice of public opinion research.
# # #
The American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) 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. AAPOR members embrace the principle that public opinion research is essential to a healthy democracy, providing information crucial to informed policymaking and giving voice to the nation's beliefs, attitudes and desires. It promotes a better public understanding of this role, as well as the sound and ethical conduct and use of public opinion research.
www.aapor.org
My AAPOR
Membership
Publications/Media
Conference/Events
Standards/Ethics
Education/Resources
About Us
AAPOR Publications
POQ
JSSAM
Survey Practice
Standard Definitions
Reports
AAPOR Newsletter
April 2022
August 2022
February 2022
October 2021
August 2021
April 2021
January 2021
October 2020
July 2020
March 2020
December 2019
October 2019
August 2019
June 2019
April 2019
February 2019
December 2018
October 2018
August 2018
June 2018
April 2018
February 2018
December 2017
October 2017
August 2017
June 2017
April 2017
February 2017
December 2016
October 2016
August 2016
June 2016
April 2016
February 2016
December 2015
November 2015
September 2015
July 2015
Newsletter Archives
AAPOR Press Releases
Archived Press Releases
AAPOR Statements
Use of AAPOR Logo
Member Login
Join AAPOR
Donate