Planning for Change

Survey Methodology

Surveying for FirstView took place on Election Day across all U.S. time zones.

One thousand actual voters were interviewed. Respondents were triple-screened for age, voter registration and participation in the 2008 election. The data is stratified by census region to represent the U.S. population’s actual ratios for gender, education and ethnicity. These measures assure a valid national probability sample. The data also is weighted by the results of the election to ensure that it is representative of the American electorate. Key demographic variables include gender, age, education, income, family status, employment, party affiliation, ideology, religion, ethnicity and Internet/mobile/text usage. The scientific survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.

FirstView utilizes multimodal interviewing. Half of the interviews were conducted by phone and half were conducted online. This hybrid approach helps to eliminate some overnight interviewing and sample bias.