What are the major polling organizations?

United States

• Elway Research.
• Field Research Corporation (Field Poll) – see Mervin Field.
• Gallup Poll.
• Harris Interactive.
• Marist Institute for Public Opinion.
• Monmouth University Polling Institute.
• NORC at the University of Chicago (formerly the National Opinion Research Center)
• Nielsen ratings.

How reliable are Gallup polls?

Poll analyst Nate Silver found that Gallup’s results were the least accurate of the 23 major polling firms Silver analyzed, having the highest incorrect average of being 7.2 points away from the final result.

What is the difference between survey and observational study?

In broad terms, a # survey simply measures variables, an observational study attempts to find a relationship between variables, and an experiment attempts to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between variables.

Why is 1000 a good sample size?

A good maximum sample size is usually around 10% of the population, as long as this does not exceed 1000. Even in a population of 200,000, sampling 1000 people will normally give a fairly accurate result. Sampling more than 1000 people won’t add much to the accuracy given the extra time and money it would cost.

Why some predictions fail and others don t?

Most predictions fail, often at great cost to society, because most of us have a poor understanding of probability and uncertainty. Both experts and laypeople mistake more confident predictions for more accurate ones. If our appreciation of uncertainty improves, our predictions can get better too.

Who funds YouGov?

In April 2005, YouGov became a public company listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange. Major shareholders of the company are BlackRock and Standard Life Aberdeen. Stephan Shakespeare has been YouGov’s Chief Executive Officer since 2010. Roger Parry has been YouGov’s Chairman since 2007.