Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Read our research on:
The debate in Washington over how to avoid the impending fiscal cliff has had little impact on the public’s views of the tradeoff between reducing the budget deficit and spending to help the economy recover. As has been the case for more than a year, nearly as many say they would place greater priority on […]
Beyond simply shaping research habits and practices, this population of middle and high school teachers suggests that the very definition of what “research” is has changed considerably in the digital world, and that change is reflected in how their students approach the task. The growing use and popularity of search engines among all segments of […]
A country-by-country analysis of data from more than 2,500 censuses, surveys and population registers finds that 84% of adults and children around the globe are religiously affiliated. The study also finds that the median age of two major groups – Muslims (23 years) and Hindus (26) – is younger than the world’s overall population (28), while Jews have the highest median age (36).
Overview The vast majority of Americans say they followed coverage of the first presidential debate between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, including 56% who followed the debate live. Most of these real-time viewers watched on television, but 11% of live debate watchers were “dual screeners,” following coverage on a computer or mobile device at the […]
Overview Like Mitt Romney, Barack Obama was not the highlight of his party’s convention. Among those who watched at least a little coverage of the Democratic convention, 29% say the highlight was Bill Clinton’s speech, while 16% name Obama’s speech as the highlight. About as many (15%) say that first lady Michelle Obama’s speech was […]
Most voters offer a positive assessment of the voting experience, with relatively few criticisms aside from the occasional long lines at polling places. And most remain confident that their vote was accurately counted, and that the voting process in their area was managed well. But the proportion of voters – both on the winning and […]
The other main hope for revenue on mobile devices is advertisements. On computers, years of research have raised significant questions about whether consumers are irritated by or even notice online ads. And there are so many new websites launching all the time that the price that any news producer can charge for ads online keeps […]
What’s in a smell? A book in any format may read the same, but it seems there’s something about the smell of print that e-books just can’t capture—for now.
The American public, as well as majorities across the five expert groups surveyed, say the U.S. should play a shared leadership role in the world, while few believe the U.S. should be the single world leader or not play any leadership role at all. There is less consensus, however, on whether the U.S. should be […]
Overview The public paid far less attention to this year’s Republican convention than it did to the GOP convention four years ago. Just 37% say they watched all or some of the Republican convention, down from 56% in 2008. And while there has been a modest increase in the percentage saying they view Mitt Romney […]
