FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SUMMARY: Web site takes the mystery out of poll results
CONTACT: Diane Zucker, (845) 437-7404 [email protected]Richard Lowry, (845) 437-7381http://faculty.vassar.edu/~lowry/polls.html
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- As Election Day nears, voters are being inundated by pollsters purporting to assess the outcome of races -- from the battle for the White House, to the struggle to wrest control of Congress, to state contests, and even regional races.
Have you been called? Probably not. The truth is, out of many millions of potential US voters, a very tiny fraction -- typically, about 600 to 1,500 -- are asked which of two (or more) candidates they prefer. The resulting proportions of preferences within the sample are then generalized to the entire population. The proverbial man or woman on the street can certainly be forgiven for wondering whether such projections make any sense at all.
A Web site (http://faculty.vassar.edu/~lowry/polls.html) designed by Richard Lowry, Vassar College professor of psychology, gives casual observers and/or political reporters new ways in which to assess the data being spewed forth by pollsters on a daily basis. "Election Year Special: Scoping the Polls" provides simple calculators capable of analyzing the data and providing some semblance of logic amidst the last minute speculation. The site, which will be updated daily through Tuesday, also contains links to information concerning the Electoral College, given the role that this peculiar institution might end up playing in the current election.
Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.
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