Welcome back to The Plebian's Guide to Polls. So where were we?  Let's review for a moment.

We've discussed how opinion polling came about.  We've put forward some of the reasons for polling.  We've differentiated four different types of polls that get used.  We've looked at how polling methodology can affect the results we see.  And we've talked about the meaning of the margin of error (MoE).

Today's issue, "The Good Stuff", begins our exploration of the sort of information we can get from a poll.  But be forewarned, if you want to get to the good stuff, sometimes you have to dig a little.

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Welcome back to The Plebian's Guide to Polls.  In last week's issue, "The Four Polls", we addressed key distinctions among the types of polls that are conducted.  Today's issue, "Margin of Error", will be the first in a number of entries looking at the mechanics of polls and what they really mean.

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Welcome back to The Plebian's Guide to Polls.  In last week's issue, "Why We Poll", we discussed how polling provides a stable estimation for public opinion.  Today's issue, "The Four Polls", will address key distinctions among the types of polls that are conducted.

There's more...

Welcome back to The Plebian's Guide to Polls.  In last week's issue, "A Brief History of Polls", we discussed the origins of modern opinion polling and the start of the Gallup poll, the first scientifically sophisticated polling company.  Today's issue, "Why We Poll", will address the fundamental reasons why polling provides such a valuable service to the political community.

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 A Brief History of Polls

Politicians and the public have an historically uneasy relationship, governed by two competing paradigms: (1) politicians ask the public what it wants, or (2) politicians tell the public what it wants.

For those of us who grew up in democratic societies, it’s easy to forget that the weight of historical precedent falls squarely on the second paradigm.  Popular sovereignty isn’t a new invention – the Greeks and Romans toyed with it millennia ago – but history shows us far fewer democracies than dictatorships.

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