Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Read our research on:

2012

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    Wide Racial, Partisan Gaps in Reactions to Trayvon Martin Coverage

    Overview The Trayvon Martin shooting is the public’s top story for the second consecutive week. But interest in the teenager’s death is deeply divided along partisan, as well as racial, lines. These differences also are apparent in reactions to news coverage of the incident: Far more Republicans (56%) than Democrats (25%) say there has been […]

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    The 1940 Census: A Few FAQs

    The release of records from the 1940 Census will help people research their family history, although at first the records can only be searched by address, not name. This posting details some of the findings and methods of the 1940 Census.

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    Facebook and Twitter Are Minor Drivers for News

    Despite the growing importance of social media, just 9% of digital news consumers say they “very often” follow news recommendations from Facebook or Twitter on any of the three main types of digital devices (computers, smartphones or tablets).

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    Strong Partisan Gap Over Energy Policy

    Nearly nine-in-ten (89%) Republicans favor allowing more oil and gas drilling in U.S. waters compared to about half of Democrats — a gap of 39 points.

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    Americans, Western Europeans Differ on the Role of the State

    Nearly six-in-ten (58%) Americans believe it is more important to have the freedom to pursue life’s goals without state interference than it is for the state to guarantee that no one is in need. Western European publics disagree.

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    Hearings Hurt Public Regard for both Health Care Law and Supreme Court

    While most Americans say last week’s Supreme Court hearings on the 2010 health care law did not change their views of the law or of the Court, they did more harm than good to the image of both. In the latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and […]

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    Let us be your megaphone

    Chances are, if you’re reading this post, you’re someone who loves storytelling as much as we do. And while we at Pew Internet primarily tell stories through data, we also rely heavily on qualitative research to help us better understand the larger trends we observe in our research.

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    Sample Surveys and the 1940 Census

    The 1940 Census was notable in the history of census-taking because it was the first in which some questions were asked of sample of Americans. This change enabled the Census Bureau to add questions to the form that were relevant to the Great Depression, and opened the door to the widened use of sample surveys in later censuses.

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    Most Americans Predict Obama Will Win Re-Election

    By a 59% to 32% margin, most Americans think Barack Obama will win the 2012 presidential election if Mitt Romney is the Republican nominee. This margin expands significantly if Rick Santorum is the GOP nominee.