Pew Research Center Staff

Few U.S. Catholics regard the use of contraceptives as morally wrong, even though the use of contraception is forbidden by church doctrine.

The ranks of political independents continue to grow and now stand at 38% of the public.

Nearly six-in-ten Americans (57%) said in a March 2011 survey that the government should play a significant role in reducing obesity among children.

The percentage of adults online who use Twitter on a typical day has doubled since May 2011.

More than eight-in-ten registered voters say the economy (86%) and jobs (84%) are very important issues in deciding who to vote for this fall.

Just 2% of Greeks say they are satisfied with the direction of their country, the lowest level of satisfaction among the European Union countries surveyed.

A quarter of Americans say the U.S. has a responsibility to do something about the fighting in Syria.

A 56% majority of Russians say they are satisfied with the results of the March 4 presidential election that brought a first-round win for Vladimir Putin, but views on the fairness of the election are more mixed.

Through mid-May, campaign coverage in 2012 is down by 33% from the same period in 2008.

The percentage of households in a polling sample that are successfully interviewed -- the response rate -- has fallen dramatically: from 36% in 1997 to 9% today.