AP®︎ U.S. Government & Politics: Topic 4.6 Flashcards

The distribution of citizens’ beliefs, attitudes, and preferences about political leaders, institutions, issues, and policies

How widely an opinion is shared across the public

The strength with which people hold an opinion

The personal or political importance of an issue to an individual

The degree to which an opinion persists over time rather than reflecting a temporary reaction

The extent to which polling methods produce dependable measurements rather than results driven by chance or inconsistent procedures

The extent to which reported polling results and conclusions truthfully and accurately represent the data

Disclosure of a poll’s sponsor, population, sample, dates, mode, wording, margin of error, and adjustment procedures so its credibility can be evaluated

The complete group about which a polling claim is made

The smaller group from which data are collected to draw an inference about a population

The practical list or system used to reach possible respondents from the target population

A sample that sufficiently reflects the target population to support valid inferences about it

Random selection chooses population members with known chances for sample inference; random assignment places subjects into experimental groups to identify causal effects

A pollster’s method for identifying which respondents are likely to vote and therefore should represent the expected electorate

An estimate of how far a sample result may differ from the population value because only a sample was surveyed

The convention that repeated sampling would produce intervals containing the true population value approximately 95 percent of the time

The absence or inadequate representation of part of the target population in the sampling frame

The failure to obtain answers from selected people because they cannot be contacted or decline to participate

Distortion that occurs when people who respond differ politically from selected people who do not respond

Distortion caused when people choose themselves for a survey, often overrepresenting those with unusually strong interest or motivation

Adjusting respondents’ influence so a sample more closely matches known population characteristics

A survey question whose wording encourages a particular response or embeds favorable or unfavorable judgments

A survey question containing unclear terms that respondents may interpret differently

A survey question that asks about more than one matter while allowing only one response

A change in responses caused by presenting the same basic issue through different accurate descriptions

A change in responses caused by earlier survey questions influencing answers to later questions

A survey-like effort that delivers favorable or damaging information to influence respondents rather than genuinely measure opinion

The method used to conduct a survey, such as live telephone, automated call, text, mail, or online panel

A change in survey answers caused by a respondent’s interaction with an interviewer

The tendency to report a socially acceptable answer rather than one’s actual view, especially on sensitive issues

A survey conducted with voters after they vote to estimate how different groups voted and why

A plurality is the largest share even if below 50 percent; a majority is more than 50 percent

Combining multiple independent polls to reduce the effect of unusual samples and identify the broader direction of opinion

A sustained pattern across comparable polls over time rather than a difference between only two sample estimates

A poll estimates current opinion in a specified population; a forecast combines polls with assumptions or other evidence to estimate a future outcome