Response rates in telephone surveys have resumed their decline
Response rates to telephone public opinion polls conducted by Pew Research Center have resumed their decline, to 7% in 2017 and 6% in 2018.
Courtney Kennedy
Expertise:
Publications
What our transition to online polling means for decades of phone survey trends
What does the migration to online polling mean for the country's trove of public opinion data gathered over the past four decades?
Phone vs. online surveys: Why do respondents’ answers sometimes differ by mode?
Pew Research Center conducts surveys over the phone and, increasingly, online. But these two formats don’t always produce identical results.
What are nonprobability surveys?
Many online surveys are conducted using “nonprobability” or “opt-in” samples, which are generally easier and cheaper to conduct. In our latest Methods 101 video, we explore some of the features of nonprobability surveys and how they differ from traditional probability-based polls.
Can we still trust polls?
Donald Trump's victory in 2016 and the U.K. "Brexit" decision rattled public confidence in polls. Our new video explains why well-designed polls can be trusted.
How do you write survey questions that accurately measure public opinion?
In the second video from our Methods 101 series, we’re tackling why question wording is so important in public opinion surveys.
For Weighting Online Opt-In Samples, What Matters Most?
A growing share of polling is conducted with online opt-in, or nonprobability, samples. This trend has raised some concern within the industry because, while low participation rates pose a challenge for all surveys, the online opt-in variety face additional hurdles.
Personal finance questions elicit slightly different answers in phone surveys than online
People polled by telephone are slightly less likely than those interviewed online to say their personal finances are in “poor shape."
How can a survey of 1,000 people tell you what the whole U.S. thinks?
The first video in our "Methods 101" series is about random sampling, a concept that undergirds all probability-based survey research. Here's how it works.
A basic question when reading a poll: Does it include or exclude nonvoters?
Opinion polls in the U.S. can address the same topic yet reach very different results. There are several reasons this can happen, but we tackle one of the most basic: Did the poll include or exclude the 45% who didn’t vote in November?
