Quinnipiac University Polling Institute

Last updated
Quinnipiac University Poll
FounderPaul Falcigno
Headquarters60 Westwoods Road
Hamden, Connecticut, U.S.
Director
Doug Schwartz
Affiliations Quinnipiac University
Staff
300 [1]
Website poll.qu.edu

The Quinnipiac University Poll is a public opinion polling center based at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. It surveys public opinion in Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin and nationally. [2] [3] The poll is unaffiliated with any academic department at the school and is run by Quinnipiac's public relations department. [4]

Contents

Academic-affiliated polls like Quinnipiac have grown in significance as media budgets have declined, and in 2017 Politico called the Quinnipiac poll "the most significant player among a number of schools that have established a national polling footprint." [4]

It is considerably larger than other academic polling centers, including the Franklin & Marshall College Poll, which only surveys Pennsylvania. [1] The organization employs about 300 interviewers, generally drawing about a quarter of its employees from political science, communications, psychology, and sociology majors, and the remainder of interviewers from those not affiliated with the university. [1] The poll has a full-time staff of ten. [1] The university does not disclose Quinnipiac University Poll's operating budget, and the poll does not accept clients or outside funding. [1]

History

The polling operation began informally in 1988 in conjunction with a marketing class. [5] It became formal in 1996 when the university hired a CBS News analyst to assess the data being gained. [5] It subsequently focused on the Northeastern states, gradually expanding during presidential elections to cover swing states as well. [5] The institute is funded by the university. [5] Quinnipiac University is widely known for its poll; [6] the publicity it has generated has been credited with increasing the university's enrollment. [1]

In 2007, Quinnipiac University Poll underwent construction of a new two-story building that was expected to double its available capacity to 160 calling cubicles. [1] The purpose of the capacity expansion was to allow polling multiple states at once, rectifying a problem that arose during the 2006 Connecticut Senate election where other polls were canceled to support that poll. [1]

The poll has been cited by major news outlets throughout North America and Europe, including The Washington Post , [7] Fox News, [8] USA Today , [9] The New York Times , [10] CNN, [11] and Reuters. [12] Quinnipiac University Poll receives national recognition for its independent surveys of residents throughout the United States. It conducts public opinion polls on politics and public policy as a public service as well as for academic research. [1] [5] Poll results are also aggregated by ABC News' FiveThirtyEight. [3] Andrew S. Tanenbaum, the founder of the poll-analysis website Electoral-vote.com, compared major pollsters' performances in the 2010 midterm Senate elections and concluded that Quinnipiac was the most accurate, with a mean error of 2.0 percent. [13] [14]

Politico reported in 2018 that "much of Quinnipiac’s prominence in the field is also a result of its commitment to self-promotion." The publication pointed out that the poll "reports to the university’s public-affairs office, not any academic wing of the school," and that for many years the poll employed New York publicist Howard Rubenstein and prominent journalists to promote the poll. [4]

Methodology

The Quinnipiac University Poll conducts polling through random digit dialing with live interviewers. Polls utilize 100-200 interviewers consisting of university students and Hamden residents, dialing both landlines and cell phones. Phone numbers are obtained from market research company Dynata. In the event of a missed call, Quinnipiac attempts four call-backs. If a household with multiple members is reached, interviewers ask to speak to the individual with the closest upcoming birthday as a quasirandom within-household selection method. Polls are typically conducted over a five-day period and aim to gather a random sample of about 1,500 respondents. [15] [16]

Responses to polls are weighted with US Census demographic data, adjusting for the variables of age, education, gender, race, and region. [16]

Quinnipiac University polls target American adults aged 18 and over. For political polling, Quinnipiac identifies registered and likely voters from screening questions. The poll emphasizes results from surveys of likely voters when approaching election days. [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quinnipiac University</span> Private university in Hamden, Connecticut, US

Quinnipiac University is a private university in Hamden, Connecticut. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. It also hosts the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

Rasmussen Reports is an American polling company founded in 2003. The company engages in political commentary and the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information. Rasmussen Reports conducts nightly tracking, at national and state levels, of elections, politics, current events, consumer confidence, business topics, and the United States president's job approval ratings. Surveys by the company are conducted using a combination of automated public opinion polling involving pre-recorded telephone inquiries and an online survey. The company generates revenue by selling advertising and subscriptions to its polling survey data.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 United States Senate election in New Jersey</span>

The 2008 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg won re-election to a fifth, non-consecutive term, defeating former Republican congressman Dick Zimmer, who was also the nominee for this seat in 1996. This election, alongside the concurrent Senate election in Minnesota, was the last U.S. Senate election in which both major party candidates were Jewish.

This article lists statewide public opinion polls conducted relating to the 2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, typically using standard statistical methodology.

This article is a collection of statewide public opinion polls that have been conducted relating to the Super Tuesday Democratic presidential primaries, 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statewide opinion polling for the 2008 United States presidential election</span>

Statewide public opinion polls that were conducted relating to the 2008 United States presidential election are as follows.

This article is a collection of statewide public opinion polls that have been conducted relating to the April, May, and June Democratic presidential primaries, 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 United States Senate election in Connecticut</span>

The 2010 United States Senate election in Connecticut was a midterm election which took place on November 2, 2010, to decide a Class III Senator from the State of Connecticut to join the 112th United States Congress. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Chris Dodd suffered from dropping approval ratings in the past few years due to major controversies, leading him to announce in January 2010 that he would retire, instead of seeking a sixth term. As Dodd was a Democrat, Richard Blumenthal, incumbent State Attorney General, announced on the same day that he would run for Dodd's seat. The Connecticut Democratic Party nominated Blumenthal on May 21. Businesswoman Linda McMahon won the state party's nominating convention and the August 10 Republican primary to become the Republican candidate. This was the first open Senate seat in Connecticut since 1980 where Dodd was first elected. Blumenthal was the only non-incumbent Democrat to win a non-special election in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 United States Senate election in Connecticut</span>

The 2012 United States Senate election in Connecticut was held on November 6, 2012, in conjunction with the 2012 U.S. presidential election, other elections to the United States Senate in other states, as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. Primaries to elect Senate candidates from the Republican and Democratic parties were held on Tuesday, August 14, 2012.

The Marist Poll, founded in 1978, is a national public opinion poll operated by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion (MIPO) on the campus of Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. The poll was one of the first college-based public opinion polls in the United States. MIPO regularly measures public opinion, both in New York State and across the country. In 2020, polls were conducted in Arizona, Florida, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. The Marist Poll has an 'A' rating from ABC News' FiveThirtyEight and is often cited by journalists and pundits around the world.

Nationwide public opinion polls conducted with respect to the Republican primaries for the 2012 United States presidential election are as follows. The people named in the polls were either declared candidates, former candidates or received media speculation about their possible candidacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Early/Mid 2012 statewide opinion polling for the 2012 United States presidential election</span>

Statewide polls for the 2012 United States presidential election are as follows. The polls listed here, by state, are from January 1 to August 31, 2012, and provide early data on opinion polling between a possible Republican candidate against incumbent President Barack Obama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statewide opinion polling for the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries</span>

This article contains opinion polling by U.S. state for the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries. The shading for each poll indicates the candidate(s) which are within one margin of error of the poll's leader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statewide opinion polling for the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries</span>

This article contains opinion polling by U.S. state for the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries. For currency and accuracy, please note the specific dates for each polling as listed below. For the significance of the earliest state votes, the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, see United States presidential primary – Iowa and New Hampshire. To know when any given state votes, see the timeline of primaries and caucuses.

Statewide polls for the 2016 United States presidential election are as follows. The polls listed here, by state, are from January 1 to August 31, 2016, and provide early data on opinion polling between a possible Republican candidate against a possible Democratic candidate.

The Suffolk University Political Research Center (SUPRC) is an opinion polling center at Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts.

This is a list of opinion polls taken on the Presidency of Donald Trump in 2018.

This page lists statewide public opinion polls that have been conducted relating to the 2016 United States presidential election in Florida, contested by Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Gary Johnson and Jill Stein. The state was won by Donald Trump with 49.02% of the vote against 47.82% for Hillary Clinton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania</span>

The 2024 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States elections in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia will participate. Pennsylvania voters will choose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote. The state of Pennsylvania has 19 electoral votes in the Electoral College, following reapportionment due to the 2020 United States census in which the state lost a seat.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Lieberman, Brett (April 9, 2007). "Behind the scenes at the Q-Poll". Patriot-News . Archived from the original on October 1, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Quinnipiac University/Poll: Polls". quinnipiac.edu. Quinnipiac University.
  3. 1 2 Silver, Nate (2021-03-25). "Pollster Ratings - Quinnipiac University". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
  4. 1 2 3 Shepard, Steven (2017-12-12). "The Poll That Built a University". POLITICO Magazine. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Lapidos, Juliet (October 16, 2008). "What's With All the "Quinnipiac University" Polls? How an obscure school in Connecticut turned into a major opinion research center". Slate.
  6. ↑ Weinreb, Michael (December 26, 2007). "New Quinnipiac Coach Is Expected to Build a Winner". The New York Times . Retrieved April 24, 2009.
  7. ↑ LaCruz, Donna (October 31, 2006). "Polls: Menendez Leads Kean in N.J. Race". Washington Post .
  8. ↑ "Poll: Lieberman Leads Challenger Lamont in Connecticut Senate Race". Fox News Channel . August 17, 2006.
  9. ↑ "Quinnipiac Poll: Giuliani still leads GOP hopefuls, but by much less". USA Today . May 21, 2010. Archived from the original on June 25, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  10. ↑ Kapochunas, Rachel (July 13, 2007). "Poll Tests 'New York-New York-New York' Race in Ohio". New York Times .
  11. ↑ Boyette, Chris. "Poll: Majority of New Yorkers approve of NYPD surveillance of Muslims". CNN.
  12. ↑ Sullivan, Andy (Jun 26, 2008). "Obama leads in four battleground states: poll". Reuters .
  13. ↑ Tanenbaum, Andrew S. (November 9, 2010). "Analysis of the Pollsters". Electoral-vote.com . Retrieved 2011-01-24.
  14. ↑ "Rasmussen Polls Were Biased and Inaccurate; Quinnipiac, SurveyUSA Performed Strongly". fivethirtyeight.com. 5 November 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  15. ↑ "While other pollsters pivot online, the CT-based Quinnipiac Poll is standing by its phones in 2024". CT Insider. February 18, 2024.
  16. 1 2 3 "Methodology". Quinnipiac. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.