Poll Hub

The pre-election polls in Virginia were wildly inconsistent. The disparate methodologies, specifically how samples were selected, muddied the narrative of the gubernatorial contest. As the Poll Hub team explains, the traditional method of conducting live interviews using a Random Digit Dial sampling method proved the most accurate in predicting this year's governor's race in Virginia. Which polling group was the most accurate, and what are the big takeaways for the industry? Poll Hub has the answers.

In this episode of Poll Hub, the team does something they have never done before – calling out poor question wording. At issue is a question included in the October Harvard-Harris Poll which asks: Some people say that the Iran nuclear deal is not perfect and the Iranians are building up their nuclear capability secretly, but we should not rock the boat now and just let it all slide along. Others say if Iranians are not compliant we have to call them out on it and push to renegotiate the deal with real verification. What would be your preferred course of action? Confused? You are not alone. Poll Hub explains why this question is so confounding and why it should never be included in a survey.

With allegations that operatives based out of Russia purchased Facebook advertisements to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and an investigation underway by the United States Congress to assess the extent of the Russians’ interference, Facebook may have played an unexpected role in the electoral process of the United States. How did this social media platform evolve into an advertising platform, and how did it become a political tool? As the “Poll Hub” team discusses, Facebook’s technology allows audiences to be targeted on a granular level to receive a specific, tailored message. As “Poll Hub” host and tech entrepreneur Jay DeDapper explains it, the lack of regulations of these advertisements created a digital “Wild West.”

Though the Harvey Weinstein scandal has stolen the spotlight, sexual harassment in the workplace is not a new issue in American society. But, it is a persistent one. According to new Exclusive Third Rail with OZY-Marist Poll findings, 87% of Americans believe that workplace sexual harassment is a problem. Included are 42% of Americans who think it is a big problem. As the Poll Hub team discusses, that proportion has increased by more than two to one over the past thirty years.

With few major statewide elections on the ballot this year, the Virginia governor’s race is front and center, but there is little agreement among the polls about the contest. In this edition of Poll Hub, the team digs deep into the polls’ methodologies and explains the “special sauce” behind each poll. Understand how the widespread experimentation in polling is complicating survey research today and why it is critical to examine the samples and weighting factors used by public opinion polls. Plus, the Poll Hub team explains the difference between party identification and registration and why weighting by party is a recipe for disaster.

The opioid epidemic in the United States is no secret to most Americans. According to a sweeping survey by the PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll, addiction to prescription opioid painkillers such as oxycodone, is a problem that affects 54% of Americans. In fact, about one in four Americans say someone in their own family suffers from this addiction. In this episode of Poll Hub, the team examines how this crisis compares with the crack epidemic in the late 1980's, whether the United States is doing enough to stop this problem, and whether Americans think there is an end in sight.

Stories of taking a knee and other national anthem protests by NFL players to draw attention to racial inequality in the United States have saturated news headlines. But, what is the status of race relations in the nation today? This episode of Poll Hub addresses that very question with special attention given to President Donald Trump’s impact on race relations in the United States. Mr. Trump’s first nine months in office have been consumed with the topic of race, and according to Exclusive Third Rail with OZY-Marist Poll numbers, a plurality of Americans, 46%, say President Trump’s comments about people of color such as Muslims, immigrants, or African Americans make it more acceptable to make racist comments.

On this episode of Poll Hub, what do Donald Trump’s supporters think of the president’s talks with the Democrats on the issue of immigration? According to a new national Marist Poll, Donald Trump’s job approval rating is up to 39% from 35%, among Americans, and it is President Trump’s base that accounts for the improvement. Why hasn’t the president’s core abandoned him in light of his negotiations with congressional Democrats? Are there other factors influencing the president’s improved job approval rating? Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, Director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, and political journalist and tech entrepreneur Jay DeDapper pick up those questions.

In this episode of Poll Hub, truth. Based on results from the Exclusive Third Rail with OZY-Marist Poll, the Poll Hub team discusses whether or not honesty is alive and well in American society. Together with political journalist and tech entrepreneur Jay DeDapper, Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, Director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, and Dr. Barbara L. Carvalho, Director of The Marist Poll, address the prevalence of lying in everyday life, even at the highest level of American society – the Presidency. Included here is an in-depth discussion about the truthfulness of President Donald Trump, Americans’ views about the president’s degree of honesty, and whether world leaders should believe what President Trump says versus what he does.

In this episode of Poll Hub, the debate over DACA. According to a new Marist Poll, a majority of Americans disapprove of President Donald Trump’s move to end DACA, similar to the findings of other recent surveys. What does it mean when the polls converge? Can the average poll consumer trust the results? Does question wording matter? The Poll Hub team takes a deep dive into the issue. Then, Poll Hub gets wonky. Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, Director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, and Dr. Barbara L. Carvalho, Director of The Marist College Poll, pull the curtain back on sample size and share with political journalist and tech entrepreneur Jay DeDapper what a margin of error really means. Plus, what do soup and polling have in common? The Poll Hub crew explains this seemingly odd analogy.

In this episode of Poll Hub, Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, Director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion and Dr. Barbara L. Carvalho, Director of The Marist College Poll, discuss with political journalist and tech entrepreneur Jay DeDapper, the poll’s decision to go into the three Rust Belt States that helped put President Donald Trump over the top in the 2016 election. According to the latest NBC News/Marist Polls of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, President Trump is having difficulty in the states that made the difference for him last November. In each of these battleground states, the president’s job approval ratings stand in the 30’s.

Though it may seem inherently contradictory, the generic ballot question can provide very specific information about the electorate and its mood. But, as the Poll Hub team discusses, analysis of the generic ballot question cannot occur in a vacuum. It must be discussed in light of the president’s job approval rating. On this episode of Poll Hub, Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, Director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, Dr. Barbara L. Carvalho, Director of The Marist College Poll, and political journalist and tech entrepreneur Jay DeDapper, expound upon recent historical precedent which indicates that the lower the president’s job approval rating is, the worse the president’s political party performs in the midterm elections. As such, the generic ballot question acts as a measurement of the brands of the Democratic and Republican parties.

In this episode of Poll Hub, together with political journalist and tech entrepreneur Jay DeDapper, Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, Director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, and Dr. Barbara L. Carvalho, Director of The Marist College Poll, explain how public opinion polls have evolved over the last 80 years. Front and center in the discussion is the need for pollsters to adjust as technology changes and the challenge of conducting quality surveys in light of the increased costs associated with those technological advances. The experts at Poll Hub also pull back the curtain on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and explain why it has created unique challenges for the polling community. Then, the Poll Hub team tackles one for football fans. Are people watching less football because of Colin Kaepernick’s protests last season? Why poll consumers need to dig deep into the data and look beyond the headline.

Since the 1970’s, there has been a sharp shift in the level of confidence Americans have in the institutions of the United States. What has changed, and why? In this episode of Poll Hub, Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, Director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, Dr. Barbara L. Carvalho, Director of The Marist College Poll, and political journalist and tech entrepreneur, Jay DeDapper look closely at the recent NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll to highlight the institutions in which Americans have the most and least faith, compare it to historical trend data to uncover what accounts for the change in public opinion, and discuss what is needed to restore Americans’ confidence.

Job approval ratings are a daily part of the political discussion, but why do they receive so much attention? Do they really matter? In this episode of Poll Hub, Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, Director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, Dr. Barbara L. Carvalho, Director of The Marist College Poll, and political journalist and tech entrepreneur Jay DeDapper discuss the historical context of job approval ratings and explain their relevance in modern day politics.

In a week marked with tragedy, heightened race relations, and political fallout, the Poll Hub team takes an in-depth look at the new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll of Americans on the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia and the deadly violence that followed. That poll, along with another conducted by The Marist Poll immediately preceding the events of Charlottesville, give a huge amount of insight into how Americans view their President, what expectations they have for him, and how strongly different groups feel about their positions.

Episode 0 otherwise known as the "what the heck is this podcast about" episode where hosts Jay DeDapper, Lee Miringoff and Barbara Carvalho explain why the Marist Poll launched the show. Short and to the point.