Description
Sampling error in polling describes the difference between the results of random samples taken at the same time. CBS Elections and Surveys Director Anthony Salvanto discussed the idea of margin of error and how sampling error should be interpreted in polling data. In the second clip, Caitriona Perry, former Washington Correspondent for RTE, Ireland’s public service broadcaster, talked about polling leading up to the 2016 election and the factors that might have impacted the sampling error.
Bell Ringer Assignment
- What does margin of error indicate? How is it related to sampling error?
- What can reduce the margin of error when performing polls?
- How should the margin of error be interpreted when looking at polling data?
- What, according to Salvanto, is "the good news about the margin of error"?
- According to Ms. Perry in the second clip, how did the margins of error in polls impact the reliability of the polling results in certain places?
- What factors contributed to problems with the reliability of polls during the 2016 election?
- AP Gov- Questions to Consider: How might polling data, and an incorrect understanding of the margin of error, impact voter behavior? How might the margin of error impact news coverage of results? How might a linkage institution use polling data?
Additional Resources
Participants
Vocabulary
- Landline
- Margin Of Error
- Poll
- Population
- Reliability
- Sample Sizes
- Sampling Error