report | Sep 27, 2011

Census Bureau: Flaws in Same-Sex Couple Data

The Census Bureau today released its first estimates of the number of same-sex married couples in the U.S., as well as alternatives counts to the published data for same-sex unmarried couples that try to account for data-processing issues.

report | Sep 22, 2011

Ask the Expert

Senior research staff answer questions from readers relating to all the areas covered by our seven projects, ranging from polling techniques and findings, to media, technology, religious, demographic and global attitudes trends.

report | Sep 12, 2011

Adding Context to the Census Bureau’s Income and Poverty Report

Pew Research Center reports can add context to the Census Bureau's release of 2010 data on U.S. income, poverty and health insurance coverage. These Pew Research Center reports, linked to in this article, have documented the impact of the Great Recession and shaky recovery on Americans’ wealth, work lives, personal finances and emotional well-being.

report | Sep 8, 2011

Using Census Data To Track Change Since 9/11/2001

Census data can be used to measure change since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, as illustrated by a Wall Street Journal story about lower Manhattan. The Census Bureau itself has published a case study of how one group used census data to argue successfully for an expanded relief-distribution zone in New York's Chinatown.

report | Aug 25, 2011

How Accurate Are Counts of Same-Sex Couples?

This posting discusses the challenges for the Census Bureau in counting same-sex couples, married and unmarried. The accuracy of data depends on responses in Census Bureau questionnaires and bureau procedures to collect and edit responses, and the posting describes both.

report | Aug 16, 2011

American Community Survey’s Assets and Deficits

A workshop that brought together Census Bureau staff and expert users to discuss the bureau's American Community Survey produced the finding that the survey's greatest asset is its local-level data, but that users are concerned about the large margins of error associated with those small-area estimates. Users and Census Bureau staff also discussed possible changes to the survey and bureau outreach to users.

report | Aug 15, 2011

Census 2010: What It Does Not Include

Some users of Census data may be surprised to learn what the 2010 Census did not ask, because many detailed items about demographics, economics and housing now are included in the American Community Survey. This posting includes a link to an article by sociologist Andrew Beveridge about the differences between Census 2010 and the ACS, as well as links to questionnaire forms.

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report | Nov 19, 2019

A Field Guide to Polling: Election 2020 Edition

While survey research in the United States is a year-round undertaking, the public’s focus on polling is never more intense than during the run-up to a presidential election.

report | Mar 31, 2017

Are Telephone Polls Understating Support for Trump?

An experiment comparing responses to 27 questions fielded on both a telephone and a web survey found no significant mode differences in overall opinion about Trump or many of his signature policy positions.