UA political scientists conduct unique opinion poll
Jack Willems
Issue date: 9/29/08 Section: News
"There is a tendency for people to pick the first answer available," she said.
The survey research center calls numbers back if no one is available at the time, something commercial polls consider to be inefficient, Parry said. Because older people tend to be home more often, this tendency will tilt commercial polls to the opinion of the elderly, Parry said. Also, interviewers are trained to read the question as written because they have been written to avoid bias, Longstreth said.
This year, the research center will include cell phone numbers in the sample.
The poll itself takes about four to six weeks to prepare, Longstreth said. Before anything is set up, the survey must be written and new hires must be trained. The center will employ between 60 and 80 interviewers to conduct the poll, she said.
The work is fascinating because interviewers come into contact with people who have very different opinions, Longstreth said.
"Among your friends, you usually hear opinions like your own," she said. "As an interviewer, you hear opinions ranging from very conservative to more liberal."
The survey always asks what the most important issue for the state is. Last year's Arkansas poll determined that 29 percent of Arkansans thought the economy was the most important issue, 15 percent thought education was the most important issue and 12 percent considered health care was the most important issue.
"Whether it is closed-ended or open-ended, those are the top three issues," Parry said.
Typically, it costs $25,000 for the Blair Center to put out the Arkansas Poll every year, but given the expansion of the poll this year, it will probably cost between $45,000 and $50,000, she said. The main advantages of having the poll are that it allows others to conduct research through it and it provides information to the media, Parry said. Professors on campus are sometimes able to use the poll to conduct research, she said.
The survey research center calls numbers back if no one is available at the time, something commercial polls consider to be inefficient, Parry said. Because older people tend to be home more often, this tendency will tilt commercial polls to the opinion of the elderly, Parry said. Also, interviewers are trained to read the question as written because they have been written to avoid bias, Longstreth said.
This year, the research center will include cell phone numbers in the sample.
The poll itself takes about four to six weeks to prepare, Longstreth said. Before anything is set up, the survey must be written and new hires must be trained. The center will employ between 60 and 80 interviewers to conduct the poll, she said.
The work is fascinating because interviewers come into contact with people who have very different opinions, Longstreth said.
"Among your friends, you usually hear opinions like your own," she said. "As an interviewer, you hear opinions ranging from very conservative to more liberal."
The survey always asks what the most important issue for the state is. Last year's Arkansas poll determined that 29 percent of Arkansans thought the economy was the most important issue, 15 percent thought education was the most important issue and 12 percent considered health care was the most important issue.
"Whether it is closed-ended or open-ended, those are the top three issues," Parry said.
Typically, it costs $25,000 for the Blair Center to put out the Arkansas Poll every year, but given the expansion of the poll this year, it will probably cost between $45,000 and $50,000, she said. The main advantages of having the poll are that it allows others to conduct research through it and it provides information to the media, Parry said. Professors on campus are sometimes able to use the poll to conduct research, she said.
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