{"id":5333,"date":"2021-05-27T15:48:42","date_gmt":"2021-05-27T20:48:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/our-methods\/"},"modified":"2025-11-18T10:37:59","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T15:37:59","slug":"our-methods","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/our-methods\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Methods"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Pew Research Center is committed to meeting the highest methodological standards \u2014 and to exploring the newest frontiers of research. Learn more about the methods the Center uses to conduct objective, non-partisan research on a wide range of topics that is trusted around the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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U.S. Surveys<\/a><\/h4>\n\n<\/div>\n\n
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International Surveys<\/a><\/h4>\n\n<\/div>\n\n
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Demographic Analysis<\/a><\/h4>\n\n<\/div>\n\n
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Data Science<\/a><\/h4>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Featured Methods Publications<\/h4>\n\n\n
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Key things to know about U.S. election polling in 2024<\/a><\/h2> \t\t\t\t\t
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Polls are more useful to the public if people have realistic expectations about what surveys can do well \u2013 and what they cannot. <\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\n

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National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS)<\/a><\/h2> \t\t\t\t\t
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NPORS is an annual survey of U.S. adults conducted by the Pew Research Center used to to produce benchmark estimates for several topics.<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\n

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How Public Polling Has Changed in the 21st Century<\/a><\/h2> \t\t\t\t\t
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A new study found that 61% of national pollsters used different methods in 2022 than in 2016. And last year, 17% of pollsters used multiple methods to sample or interview people \u2013 up from 2% in 2016.<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\n

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Public Opinion Polling Basics<\/a><\/h2> \t\t\t\t\t
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By the end of our free, six-lesson course, you will know why we have polls, what the different kinds of polls are, how polling works and what you should look for in a poll.<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\n

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Confronting 2016 and 2020 Polling Limitations<\/a><\/h2> \t\t\t\t\t
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Looking at final estimates of the outcome of the 2020 U.S. presidential race, 93% of national polls overstated the Democratic candidate\u2019s support among voters, while nearly as many (88%) did so in 2016.<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\n

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What 2020\u2019s Election Poll Errors Tell Us About the Accuracy of Issue Polling<\/a><\/h2> \t\t\t\t\t
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Given the errors in 2016 and 2020 election polling, how much should we trust polls that attempt to measure opinions on issues?<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\n\n

All Methodological Research ><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

More Methods Resources<\/h4>\n\n\n
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Methods 101 Videos<\/a><\/h2> \t\t\t\t\t
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Our series of brief explainer videos breaks down key topics in research methodology for non-expert audiences.<\/p><\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\n

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Decoded<\/a><\/h2> \t\t\t\t\t
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A behind-the-scenes blog about research methods at Pew Research Center.<\/p><\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n<\/div>\n\n

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OUr Methods Teams<\/h2>
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U.S. Survey Methods Team<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Pew Research Center\u2019s U.S. survey methodologists <\/a>manage the Center\u2019s American Trends Panel and provide guidance for all of the Center\u2019s domestic public opinion research to ensure it meets the highest standards.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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International Survey Methods Team<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Center\u2019s International Survey Methods Team<\/a> ensures that all cross-national and multicultural projects we conduct continue to meet the highest standards of data quality and representativeness.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Data Labs Team<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Data Labs team <\/a>of data scientists, computational social scientists and DevOps engineers uses computational methods to complement and expand on the Center\u2019s existing research agenda.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n