AAPOR Statement on "Push Polls" May 19, 2004 As we move into the election season, the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) has started to receive complaints about "push" polls. A push poll is a form of negative campaigning disguised as a political poll that is designed to change opinions, not measure them. Legitimate polls accurately describe the candidates and issues in order to understand voter reactions. Push polls frequently present distorted information in order to influence voters. Push polls go beyond the ethical boundaries of political polling and bombard voters with problematic statements about candidates or issues in an effort to manufacture negative voter attitudes.
For example, AAPOR has recently received seve ral complaints about a poll conducted in Flagstaff, Arizona, where an election was held on May 18. According to Roger Tourangeau, AAPOR's 2003-04 Standards Chair, "The poll seems to have many of the earmarks of a push poll. As far as we can tell, it consisted of only a couple of questions. Local newspaper accounts stated that one of the questions gives a very misleading characterization of an issue on the Flagstaff ballot. We can't be sure that this is a push poll, because neither the polling firm - the Summit Group - nor the sponsor - the Citizens for Sensible Government- has agreed to provide any information about the 'poll.' Their unwillingness to reveal anything about the survey makes us uncomfortable, since legitimate political and public opinion researchers acknowledge their responsibility to disclose and discuss their purposes and methods." Tourangeau spoke with Mike Crusa of the Summit Group, who refused to disclose any information about survey without his client's permission. Subsequently, Pernell McGuire, Chair of the Citizens for Sensible Government, left a voice mail saying he would not answer any questions about the survey.
AAPOR members sign a Code of Professional Ethics and Practices that requires disclosure of minimal methodological details about surveys when the results are released. (The full code can be found at http://www.aapor.org/pdfs/code.pdf) The Code calls for disclosing at least the following items:
1. Who sponsored the survey, and who conducted it.
2. The exact wording of questions asked, including the text of any preceding instruction or explanation to the interviewer or respondents that might reasonably be expected to affect the response.
3. A definition of the population under study, and a description of the sampling frame used to identify this population.
4. A description of the sample selection procedure, giving a clear indication of the method by which the respondents were selected by the researcher, or whether the respondents were entirely self-selected.
5. Size of samples and, if applicable, completion rates and information on eligibility criteria and screening procedures.
6. A discussion of the precision of the findings, including, if appropriate, estimates of sampling error, and a description of any weighting or estimating procedures used.
7. Which results are based on parts of the sample, rather than on the total sample.
8. Method, location, and dates of data collection.
Tourangeau added: "Legitimate surveys generally document their claims at the time the findings are reported." The Citizens for Sensible Government issued a press release about the survey in February, which did not provide the information called for in the AAPOR Code. Neither Mike Cruse nor Pernell McGuire is an AAPOR member.
AAPOR's governing Councils have repeatedly warned members and the public about push polls. The 1996 and 2000 Councils issued formal condemnations of push polls. AAPOR will continue to react to complaints about suspected push polls and investigate them. If you feel you've been contacted by a push poll, try to get the name and location of the organization doing the "interviewing." Ask about the sponsors, the number of people called, the questions asked, and how the information from the poll is being used.
And contact AAPOR at AAPOR-info at goAMP.com.
For more information, contact Ro ger Tourangeau (301 314-7984, RTourang at survey.Umd.Edu).