What does it mean when survey data have been “weighted”?
After conducting a survey the random sample of respondents interviewed is compared to the general population of New Jersey on certain demographic characteristics (typically age and education), using U.S. Census figures. Typically there are small discrepancies between the sample in the survey and the general population. The Eagleton Poll corrects these small discrepancies by applying a small mathematical correction or weight to each respondent, to make the sample as representative as possible. These weights rarely change the results of the survey by more than one or two percentage points.
