Gallup Is Doing It Again

[Listener2307]

Originally Posted by LauraC

I encourage everyone who reads a Gallup report or hears about a Gallup poll, regardless of the subject, to take a look at the methodology on their website before quoting them. The title of the report they released today is:




But when you take a look at their methodology, found at the end of the report (you have to click on it to read it), their methodology says:

"Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,004 adults in the U.S., aged 15 and older, conducted from Aug. 13- Sept. 30, 2018."

Where does it say they polled Americans in their methodology? And since when is a 15 year old an adult? They polled people living here 15 years old and older. That could be illegals or people here legally on visas in addition to American citizens. We don't know what percent of the people they polled are really Americans. Is it a lot? Is it a little? Who knows? Gallup does this all the time on a variety of subjects and no one in the news media ever questions it when reporting Gallup results.

Although Gallup claims it's out of the political polling business, polls like this one will be cited by the news media when we get close to election time as a way to judge the mood of the country.

Trust me. If they actually polled Americans, they would say so in their methodology.

All polls are correct.
But the Gallup poll matters least of all. Only about 50% of "adults" vote. So it doesn't matter what they think.


Just before the election in 2016, Gallup switched to "likely voters" so that their results would be more in line with what actually happened.

[ambient]

Originally Posted by LauraC

No, who they sampled is in their methodology section of the actual poll.

They sampled people living in America. They are not outfitted, nor is it relevant, to ask all participants to submit their birth certificates, passports, social security samples, fingerprints, urine samples, etc. to satisfy your curiosity as to their legal status and birthplace. And why does that matter for the topic at hand? Do you think immigrants get stressed at different rates than domestically born people? Your line of reasoning on this seems rather daft.