{"id":86,"date":"2026-04-16T15:41:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T13:41:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/journalists\/3-takeaways-from-2-webinars-to-help-you-cover-opinion-polling-during-the-2026-elections\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T15:41:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T13:41:19","slug":"3-takeaways-from-2-webinars-to-help-you-cover-opinion-polling-during-the-2026-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/journalists\/3-takeaways-from-2-webinars-to-help-you-cover-opinion-polling-during-the-2026-elections\/","title":{"rendered":"3 takeaways from 2 webinars to help you cover opinion polling during the 2026 elections"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"sharing\">\n<div class=\"social-icons\">\n<div class=\"simplesocialbuttons simplesocial-round-icon simplesocialbuttons_inline simplesocialbuttons-align-right simplesocialbuttons-inline-no-animation\">\n<button class=\"simplesocial-fb-share\"  rel=\"nofollow\"  target=\"_blank\"  aria-label=\"Facebook Share\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/journalistsresource.org\/politics-and-government\/opinion-polling-elections\/\" onClick=\"javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;\"><span class=\"simplesocialtxt\">Facebook <\/span> <\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"simplesocial-twt-share\"  rel=\"nofollow\"  target=\"_blank\"  aria-label=\"Twitter Share\" data-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=3+takeaways+from+2+webinars+to+help+you+cover+opinion+polling+during+the+2026+elections&#038;url=https:\/\/journalistsresource.org\/politics-and-government\/opinion-polling-elections\/\" onClick=\"javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;\"><span class=\"simplesocialtxt\">Twitter<\/span> <\/button><br \/>\n<button  rel=\"nofollow\"  target=\"_blank\"  class=\"simplesocial-linkedin-share\" aria-label=\"LinkedIn Share\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/sharing\/share-offsite\/?url=https:\/\/journalistsresource.org\/politics-and-government\/opinion-polling-elections\/\" onClick=\"javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;\"><span class=\"simplesocialtxt\">LinkedIn<\/span><\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"simplesocial-reddit-share\"  rel=\"nofollow\"  target=\"_blank\"  aria-label=\"Reddit Share\" data-href=\"https:\/\/reddit.com\/submit?url=https:\/\/journalistsresource.org\/politics-and-government\/opinion-polling-elections\/&#038;title=3+takeaways+from+2+webinars+to+help+you+cover+opinion+polling+during+the+2026+elections\" onClick=\"javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;\" ><span class=\"simplesocialtxt\">Reddit<\/span> <\/button><br \/>\n<button onClick=\"javascript:window.location.href = this.dataset.href;return false;\" class=\"simplesocial-email-share\" aria-label=\"Share through Email\"  rel=\"nofollow\"  target=\"_blank\"   data-href=\"mailto:?subject=3 takeaways from 2 webinars to help you cover opinion polling during the 2026 elections&#038;body=https:\/\/journalistsresource.org\/politics-and-government\/opinion-polling-elections\/\"><span class=\"simplesocialtxt\">Email<\/span><\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Transparency, methodological gold standards and survey weighting: Those were three of many topics covered during two webinars The Journalist\u2019s Resource recently hosted featuring Roper iPoll, from The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at Cornell University.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ropercenter.cornell.edu\/ipoll\/\">Roper iPoll<\/a> is a comprehensive opinion data research platform that offers access to nearly a million survey and poll questions from 1935 to today. Eligible small media organizations and independent journalists can <a href=\"https:\/\/ropercenter.cornell.edu\/media-and-reporters\">apply<\/a> for a one-year membership to Roper iPoll.<\/p>\n<p>Kathleen Weldon, director of data operations at the Roper Center, discussed how journalists can use Roper iPoll to access both up-to-date and historical opinion polls.<\/p>\n<p>With the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncsl.org\/elections-and-campaigns\/2026-state-primary-election-dates\">2026 U.S. primaries<\/a> underway, keep reading for three insights that will help you accurately cover opinion polls. These takeaways are from both webinars, held on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=09ZjdZ30hAs\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=09ZjdZ30hAs\">Feb. 26<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=9fktrADefEo\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=9fktrADefEo\">March 4<\/a>. And check out our past work on <a href=\"https:\/\/journalistsresource.org\/media\/5-basic-things-journalists-need-to-know-polls-surveys\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/journalistsresource.org\/media\/5-basic-things-journalists-need-to-know-polls-surveys\/\">covering surveys and polls<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/journalistsresource.org\/home\/question-order-bias-effect-survey-poll\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/journalistsresource.org\/home\/question-order-bias-effect-survey-poll\/\">understanding question order bias<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-ac83d1f7 alignfull uagb-is-root-container\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9fktrADefEo?si=u3uBLV1x92xbijMv\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1. Good polls will be transparent about their methodologies<\/strong>.<\/h3>\n<p>Methodological transparency is the foundation of reliable polling data.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can\u2019t say that any particular poll is great just because it\u2019s transparent,\u201d Weldon said. \u201cThere can be bad polls that are transparent. However, it is very uncommon for good polls to not be transparent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/aapor.org\/standards-and-ethics\/\">code of ethics<\/a> of the Association for Public Opinion Research, a major professional organization for public opinion survey professionals, requires that member organizations commit to transparency in how they design, conduct, analyze and report their surveys and findings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat we push over and over again is transparency, transparency, transparency,\u201d Weldon said. \u201cIt\u2019s the only way that you can ensure that the people who are doing the research are acting in good faith &#8212; that they\u2019re willing to share their information, and to allow people to interrogate the data.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2. There\u2019s no single gold standard for survey methodology<\/strong>.<\/h3>\n<p>Phone surveys with live interviewers and random digit dialing <a href=\"https:\/\/poll.qu.edu\/methodology\/\">has long been<\/a> considered the gold standard of public opinion polling. But response rates have fallen over recent decades &#8212; people don\u2019t answer their phones like they used to &#8212; and new polling methods have emerged.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s really no certainty that there is one method that is appropriate in all situations &#8212; that can be said to be a perfect gold standard,\u201d Weldon said. \u201cThere is a method that does represent most of what currently comes into our archive. And that is <a href=\"https:\/\/ropercenter.cornell.edu\/how-do-probability-based-online-panels-work\">online probability polling<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In probability-based sampling, pollsters randomly select participants. This helps reduce bias in results. If everyone in a population being sampled has an equal chance of being selected, there should be an equal chance that all potential answers to questions will be represented.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3. Take a close look at survey weighting<\/strong>.<\/h3>\n<p>Non-probability online samples are another common methodology that journalists may encounter when reporting on polling data.<\/p>\n<p>They may include \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/news.gallup.com\/opinion\/methodology\/652493\/gallup-approach-opt-sampling.aspx\">opt-in<\/a>\u201d surveys, where people choose to participate. And because these online samples are not random, they may introduce bias.<\/p>\n<p>Some pollsters use sophisticated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/methods\/2018\/01\/26\/how-different-weighting-methods-work\/\">weighting<\/a> methods to try to overcome potential bias and ensure their results more closely represent the population being studied. For example, if the target population is 50% men and 50% women, but 40% of respondents were women and 60% were men, the responses from women would count more than those from men in the final results.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDefinitely pay attention to weighting,\u201d Weldon said. \u201cIs there something they\u2019re not weighting to that seems like it should be there? Almost all of them are weighting to sex and age. People have been waiting to sex and age since the beginning of polling. But some of the other things &#8212; like education and income, or even access to the internet &#8212; those types of things can be really valuable weights.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/journalistsresource.org\/politics-and-government\/opinion-polling-elections\/\">3 takeaways from 2 webinars to help you cover opinion polling during the 2026 elections<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/journalistsresource.org\">The Journalist&#039;s Resource<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\tA project of Harvard Kennedy School&#8217;s Shorenstein Center, The Journalist\u2019s Resource curates, summarizes and contextualizes high-quality research on newsy public policy topics. Supported by generous grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) Foundation, Lumina Foundation, and individual contributors.<\/p>\n<p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/journalistsresource.org\/donate-journalists-resource\/\" target=\"_blank\">How to make a donation to The Journalist\u2019s Resource<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/journalistsresource.org\/politics-and-government\/opinion-polling-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\">Link to 3 takeaways from 2 webinars to help you cover opinion polling during the 2026 elections<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit Email Transparency, methodological gold standards and survey weighting: Those were three of many topics covered during two webinars The Journalist\u2019s Resource recently hosted featuring Roper iPoll, from The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at Cornell University. Roper iPoll is a comprehensive opinion data research platform that offers access to nearly &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3],"class_list":["type-post","category-news","tag-journalist-resource","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/journalists\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/journalists\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/journalists\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/journalists\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/journalists\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/journalists\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/journalists\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/journalists\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/journalists\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}