Political Culture

The dominant set of beliefs, customs, tradition, and values that define the relationship between citizens and government

Individualism

The belief that individuals should be responsible for themselves and for the decision they make

Equal of Opportunity

The preamble to the Declaration of Independence includes the following statement about natural rights

Rule of Law

The principle that no one, including public officials, is above the law

Political Socialization

The experience and factors that shape an individual’s political values, attitude, and politics.

Generation Effect

The impact of historical events experienced by a generation upon their political views.

Life-cycle Effect

The impact of a person’s age and stage in life on his or her political views

Globalization

The increasing interconnectedness of people, business, and countries throughout the world.

Outsourcing

When a company moves its business to a place where labor costs are cheaper or production is more efficient because workers work longer hours.

Public Opinion

The sum of individual attitudes about government, policies, and issues.

Focus Group

A small group of individuals assembled for a conversation about specific issues.

Scientific Poll

A representative poll of randomly selected respondents with a statistically significant sample size, using neutral language.

Sample

A group of individuals from a larger population used to measure public opinion.

Random Selection

A method of choosing all poll respondents in a way that does not over-or-underrepresent any group of the population.

Representative Sample

A sample that reflects the demographics of the population.

Weighting

A procedure in which the survey is adjusted according to the demographics of the larger population.

Sampling Error

The margin of error in a poll, which usually is calculated to plus or minus three percentage points.

Mass Survey

A survey designed to measure the opinions of the population, usually consisting of 1500 responses.

Exit Poll

A survey conducted outside a polling place in which individuals are asked who or what they voted for and why.

Benchmark Poll

A surgery taken at the beginning of a political campaign in order to gauge support for a candidate and determine which issues are important to voters.

Tracking Poll

A surgery determining the level of support for a candidate or an issue throughout a campaign.

Random-digit Dialing

The use of telephone numbers randomly generated by computer to select potential survey respondents.

Question Working

The phrasing of a question in a public opinion poll.

Question Order

The sequence of questions in a public opinion poll.

Gender Gap

The statistical differences in how men and women vote or hold political opinions.