How is an opinion poll conducted?
A3 Reputable political polling is conducted by several major polling organisations who use a number of different techniques for sampling and fieldwork. The three main techniques for conducting polls are face-to-face interviewing in respondents’ houses, telephone interviewing and internet-based polling, the latter of which is becoming more widely used. Face-to-face polling is conducted within a number of ‘primary sampling points’ (usually parliamentary constituencies). These are often selected proportional to the number of electors, and should reflect a cross section of social class and political preferences.
