Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Freedom of the Press


  • report

    Flashpoints in Polling

    Many people wonder: Can polls be trusted? The following essay contains a big-picture review of the state of polling, organized around a number of key areas.

  • report

    The Twilight of Landline Interviewing

    By Courtney Kennedy, Kyley McGeeney and Scott Keeter Now that over 90% of U.S. adults have cellphones,1 survey researchers are considering whether it is necessary to continue dialing landline numbers in random-digit-dial (RDD) telephone polls. A new Pew Research Center study finds that, for polls already conducting a substantial share of interviews with cellphones, the answer […]

  • report

    Moving Without Changing Your Cellphone Number: A Predicament for Pollsters

    By Meredith Dost and Kyley McGeeney Each year about 36 million Americans move residences, according to the Census Bureau. And they quite often take their cellphone numbers with them. Others have not moved but bought their cellphone in a different state. The net result, according to new Pew Research Center estimates, is that 10% of […]