Light

Public Opinion Polls

Definition

Public opinion polls are surveys used to gauge the public's views on various issues, policies, or political figures. They're often conducted by research organizations or news outlets.

Analogy

Think of public opinion polls like a thermometer for society's thoughts and feelings. Just as a thermometer measures temperature, these polls measure the attitudes and beliefs of a population at a given time.

Related terms

Sampling: This is the process of selecting a subset of individuals from a larger population to represent the whole. It's like choosing a handful of M&Ms from a bag to get an idea of the color distribution.

Margin of Error: This refers to the amount that survey results may differ from the true values in the entire population. Imagine trying to guess someone's weight - your guess might be close, but it probably won't be exactly right.

Bias: This is any systematic error in polling results due to non-random sampling or question wording that favors one outcome over another. It’s like if you only asked chocolate lovers about their favorite dessert - you’d likely get skewed results favoring chocolate desserts.