Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Read our research on:

Home Research Topics Methodological Research Survey Methods

Survey Methods

report

Public Opinion Polling Basics

By the end of our free, five-lesson course, you will know why we have polls, what the different kinds of polls are, how polling works and what you should look for in a poll.

data essay

Who Are You? The Art and Science of Measuring Identity

As a shop that studies human behavior through surveys and other social scientific techniques, we have a good line of sight into the contradictory nature of human preferences. Here’s a look at how we categorize our survey participants in ways that enhance our understanding of how people think and behave.

report

How Pew Research Center Uses Its National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS)

In 2020, Pew Research Center launched a new project called the National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS). NPORS is an annual, cross-sectional survey of U.S. adults. Respondents can answer either by paper or online, and they are selected using address-based sampling from the United States Postal Service’s computerized delivery sequence file.

Icon for promotion number 1

Sign up for our Methods newsletter

The latest on survey methods, data science and more, delivered quarterly.

Thank you for subscribing!

All

Survey Methods

Publications

  • report

    How the Pew Research Center Conducts Its Surveys Abroads

    James Bell, Director of International Survey Research for the Pew Research Center, explains the methodology used by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project to assure the quality and accuracy of surveys conducted abroad.

  • report

    Survey Research, Its New Frontiers and Democracy

    Scott Keeter, Director of Survey Research for the Pew Research Center and president of the American Association for Public Opinion Research, explores the threats and opportunities in the field of survey research, and discusses steps that can be taken to help keep survey research relevant for democracy.

  • report

    Assessing the Representativeness of Public Opinion Surveys

    Overview For decades survey research has provided trusted data about political attitudes and voting behavior, the economy, health, education, demography and many other topics. But political and media surveys are facing significant challenges as a consequence of societal and technological changes. It has become increasingly difficult to contact potential respondents and to persuade them to […]

  • report

    Ask the Expert

    Senior research staff answer questions from readers relating to all the areas covered by our seven projects, ranging from polling techniques and findings, to media, technology, religious, demographic and global attitudes trends.

  • report

    How do you decide what to ask in your polls?

    Senior research staff answer questions from readers relating to all the areas covered by our seven projects, ranging from polling techniques and findings, to media, technology, religious, demographic and global attitudes trends.

  • report

    How accurate are online polls in 2010?

    Senior research staff answer questions from readers relating to all the areas covered by our seven projects, ranging from polling techniques and findings, to media, technology, religious, demographic and global attitudes trends.