Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Read our research on:
The second video in Pew Research Center’s Methods 101 series helps explain question wording – a concept at the center of sound public opinion survey research – and why it’s important.
In general, Americans have low regard for elected officials. And when asked about candidates running for office in the last several elections, only about half (47%) say the quality of candidates overall has been good, with just 7% saying they have been “very good”; about as many (52%) take a negative view. Yet the public […]
Political engagement Throughout this report, a three-category measure of political engagement is used. The scale combines how often respondents follow politics, how often they vote and whether they have engaged in any of five political activities in the last five years. The scale is weighted to favor more recent participation (within the last year). The […]
One of the biggest challenges facing those who seek to understand U.S. elections is establishing an accurate portrait of the American electorate and the choices made by different kinds of voters. Obtaining accurate data on how people voted is difficult for a number of reasons. Surveys conducted before an election can overstate – or understate […]