Ask the polling expert

I checked my email and saw this, dated 9:52am:

Good Morning Andrew,

My name is ** with **, the **-affiliate in **

I’m doing a story about a stat going around online: 70% of Americans support Roe v. Wade, and 30% support overturning it.
What I’m finding is it depends on what poll you look at.

I’d love to interview you this morning/early afternoon about how to interpret polls and what people should look at.

For instance, I’m seeing that the Gallup results vary from the Pew Research results vary from the Rassmussen results.

Do you have time for 10-15 minute Zoom interview?

By the time I saw this, the morning/early afternoon had passed. But I wanted to be helpful going forward, so I replied:

I never check my email before 4pm! In any case, if you have future such questions I recommend you contact David Weakliem at U. Connecticut, who is the real expert on this sort of public opinion question.

For those who don’t follow the blogroll, David Weakliem is here. And he’s written about abortion!

5 thoughts on “Ask the polling expert

  1. If the reporter is saying “Gallup” and “Pew” in the same breath as “Rassmussen,” I think they need more than a 10-15 minute Zoom about how to interpret polls.
    Just sayin.

  2. That’s a great e-mail policy. How did you arrive at it and do you have suggestions for fending off complaints from students (and colleagues)?

    I feel like everybody has a bad habit now of emailing you crucial information (like zoom links) about 5 minutes before you need it.

    • Xysname:

      Survey organizations ask this question in various ways. For example, Gallup now asks, “Would you like to see the Supreme Court overturn its Roe versus Wade decision concerning abortion, or not?” From 1989-2002, the wording was, “The 1973 Roe versus Wade decision established a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion, at least in the first three months of pregnancy. Would you like to see the Supreme Court completely overturn its Roe versus Wade decision, or not?”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *