"An Introduction to Polling"

Nationally recognized political pollster Fred Yang appeared on the Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne campus on May 20, 2004. During his lecture Mr. Yang discussed political or strategic polls, described the process of polling, explained an actual poll and answered a variety of questions about political polling. Mr. Yang's lecture was sponsored by the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics in the department of Political Science at IPFW.

Listen to the Entire Program

or listen by topic by clicking below

• Lecture outline - objectives of polls - political or strategic polls
  
• Elements of strategy: message, targets, tactics - Q & A about tactics
  
• Five polling truths - process of polling
  
• Sample size - screening - call dates
  
• Sample considerations: getting phone numbers - Quotas
  
• Questionnaire design
  
• Elements of survey research
  
• Q & A about push polls
  
• Q & A about sample size
  
• Q & A about pollsters' partisanship
  
• Explanation of an actual poll
  
• Political campaigns' use of polls
  
• Focus groups
  
• Elected public officials' use of polls
  
• Al Gore and the election in 2000
  
• Sen. John Kerry's campaign
  
• 2004 election for president
  
• Republican democrats - polling in another country