Polling Methods Questionnaire
PSRAI is conducting a study on presidential
approval ratings for the period of 1997-2003 for presentation
at the 2004 AAPOR conference. This short survey will
help us gather important information for our analysis.
The following questions refer to telephone surveys in
which respondents are asked their opinions on presidential
approval, i.e. "Do you approve or disapprove of
the way [sitting president] is handling his job as president?"
For each question please mark an “x” in
boxes that apply to the methods your company currently
uses.
1. Where is the presidential approval question placed on your questionnaire? (Please choose one)
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CBS
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ABC
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CNN
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FOX
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NW
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Always first
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Second only to horserace questions
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Always later in the interview
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No specific placement/Varies from poll to poll
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2. Which of the following variables do you use to weight your sample? (Please choose all that apply)
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CBS
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ABC
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CNN
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FOX
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NW
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•
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*
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Gender
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*
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Age
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Race/Hispanic origin
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Education
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*
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Region
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Party identification
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Income
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*
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Number of adults in household
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Number of phone lines in household
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* These variables controlled by CATI system.
3. If conduct interviews at an outside organization, does your company…
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ABC
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FOX
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NW
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Always use the same outside organization
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Use multiple outside organizations
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4. Are interviewers instructed to ask to speak with… (Please choose one)
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CBS
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ABC
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CNN
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FOX
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NW
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Any adult who is at home
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The youngest male/oldest female over 18
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The person over 18 with the most recent birthday
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Other (Please specify)
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CBS – Interviewer asks for number of adult men and women; random selection made from all adults in household (whether or not at home); appointments made with selected respondent
ABC – respondent now at home; last birthday; sex
5a. Are interviewers instructed to probe or re-ask the presidential approval question if respondents do not answer “approve” or “disapprove” initially?
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CBS
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ABC
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CNN
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FOX
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NW
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Yes – Go to question 5b
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No – Go to question 6
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5b. Are interviewers instructed to probe in all cases, or only in certain cases, such as respondents who say “it depends” or “approve for some things but disapprove for others”?
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ABC
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FOX
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NW
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In all cases – Go to question 5c
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Only in certain cases – Go to question 5c
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5c. Are interviewers instructed to probe only once, or to make several attempts, if necessary, to try to get an answer?
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ABC
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FOX
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NW
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Once
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Make several attempts if necessary
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6. Which of the following does your company call back at least once in order to complete an interview?
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CBS
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ABC
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CNN
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FOX
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NW
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Non-contacts (e.g. no answer, busy signal, answering machine)
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Refusals
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Neither
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Other (Please specify)
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CBS – Call back selected respondents who were not at home at the time of the call (appointments); also redial all “not in service” numbers.
7. What type of sample do you typically use? (Please choose one)
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CBS
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ABC
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CNN
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FOX
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NW
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Listed sample
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Random digit dial
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Other (Please specify)
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8. Finally, please indicate below if there have been any important changes in your survey methodology/ practices from 1997 to 2003.
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CBS - Began calling back not-in-service numbers about two years ago.
CNN - Changed to most recent birthday for respondent selection following the 2000 election. Prior to election used youngest male/oldest female.
FOX - Reports experimenting with different CATI systems that vary respondent selection or callback procedures.
Newsweek - Increased its
sample size from 750 to 1,000 in January 2001.
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