| A | B |
|---|
| Public opinion | what the public thinks about a particular issue or set of issues at any point in time. |
| Public opinion polls | interviews or survey with samples of citizens that are used to estimate the feelings and beliefs of the entire population. |
| George Gallup | considered the founder of modern-day polling; believes that polls play a key role in defining issues of concern to the public. |
| Straw poll | an unscientific survey used to gauge public opinion, to predict popular vote. |
| sample | group selected to be questioned. |
| types of polls | telephone polls, exit polls, tracking polls, internet polls, push polls. |
| Exit polls | polls conducted as voters leaved polling place on Election Day. |
| Tracking polls | Includes questions that go too far; designed to give negative or even untruthful information about a candidate's opponent with the goal to push them AWAY from that candidate and toward the one paying for the poll. |
| Random sampling | Method of selection that gives each person in a group the same chance of being selected. |
| Stratified sampling | most rigorous sampling technique; the population is divided into subgroups and weighted based on demographic characteristics of the national population. |
| Margin of error | a measure of accuracy of an opinion poll. |
| Political socialization | the process through which individuals acquire their political beliefs and values. |
| Influence on our political beliefs | Family, school, peers, the mass media, religion, political leaders. |
| mass media | entire array of organizations through which information is collected. |
