Quinnipiac University Poll
Encyclopedia
The Quinnipiac University Poll is an opinion poll research operated by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute at Quinnipiac University
in Connecticut
. It surveys public opinion in Connecticut, Florida
, New York
, New Jersey
, Pennsylvania
, Ohio
, and nationally.
It is considerably larger than other academic polling centers, including the Franklin & Marshall College Poll
, which only surveys Pennsylvania
. The organization employs about 160 work-study students as interviewers, generally drawing from political science
, communications, psychology
, and sociology
majors. The poll has a full-time staff of eight. The university does not disclose the Institute's operating budget, and the poll does not accept clients or outside funding.
The institute is undergoing construction of a new two-story building that is expected to double its available capacity to 160 calling cubicles. The purpose of the capacity expansion is to allow the Institute to poll multiple states at once, rectifying a problem that arose during the 2006 Connecticut Senate election
where other polls were canceled to support that poll.
The polling operation began informally in 1988 in conjunction with a marketing class. It became formal in 1994 when the university hired a CBS News
analyst to assess the data being gained. It subsequently focused on the Northeastern states, gradually expanding during presidential elections to cover swing state
s as well. The institute is funded by the university. The polls have been rated highly by Fivethirtyeight for accuracy in predicting primary and general elections. Quinnipiac University is widely known for its poll; the publicity it has generated has been credited with increasing the university's enrollment.
The poll has been cited by major news outlets throughout North America and Europe, including The Washington Post
, Fox News, USA Today
, The New York Times
, CNN
, and Reuters
. Quinnipiac's Polling Institute receives national recognition for its independent surveys of residents throughout the United States. It conducts public opinion polls on politics and public policy as a public service as well as for academic research. Andrew S. Tanenbaum
, the founder of the poll-analysis website Electoral-vote.com
, compared major pollsters' performances in the 2010 midterm Senate elections and concluded that Quinnipiac was the most accurate, with a mean error of 2.0 per cent.
Quinnipiac University
Quinnipiac University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational university located in Hamden, Connecticut, United States at the foot of Sleeping Giant State Park...
in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. It surveys public opinion in Connecticut, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, and nationally.
It is considerably larger than other academic polling centers, including the Franklin & Marshall College Poll
Franklin & Marshall College Poll
The Franklin & Marshall College Poll is a prominent Pennsylvania-based opinion poll. It is considered the "longest running Pennsylvania statewide poll exclusively directed and produced in the state."...
, which only surveys Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. The organization employs about 160 work-study students as interviewers, generally drawing from political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
, communications, psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, and sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
majors. The poll has a full-time staff of eight. The university does not disclose the Institute's operating budget, and the poll does not accept clients or outside funding.
The institute is undergoing construction of a new two-story building that is expected to double its available capacity to 160 calling cubicles. The purpose of the capacity expansion is to allow the Institute to poll multiple states at once, rectifying a problem that arose during the 2006 Connecticut Senate election
United States Senate election in Connecticut, 2006
The 2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman lost the August 8th Democratic primary to Ned Lamont. Lieberman formed his own third party and won in the general election to a fourth term.-Democratic primary:The...
where other polls were canceled to support that poll.
The polling operation began informally in 1988 in conjunction with a marketing class. It became formal in 1994 when the university hired a CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
analyst to assess the data being gained. It subsequently focused on the Northeastern states, gradually expanding during presidential elections to cover swing state
Swing state
In United States presidential politics, a swing state is a state in which no single candidate or party has overwhelming support in securing that state's electoral college votes...
s as well. The institute is funded by the university. The polls have been rated highly by Fivethirtyeight for accuracy in predicting primary and general elections. Quinnipiac University is widely known for its poll; the publicity it has generated has been credited with increasing the university's enrollment.
The poll has been cited by major news outlets throughout North America and Europe, including The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, Fox News, USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, and Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
. Quinnipiac's Polling Institute receives national recognition for its independent surveys of residents throughout the United States. It conducts public opinion polls on politics and public policy as a public service as well as for academic research. Andrew S. Tanenbaum
Andrew S. Tanenbaum
Andrew Stuart "Andy" Tanenbaum is a professor of computer science at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam in the Netherlands. He is best known as the author of MINIX, a free Unix-like operating system for teaching purposes, and for his computer science textbooks, regarded as standard texts in the...
, the founder of the poll-analysis website Electoral-vote.com
Electoral-vote.com
Electoral-Vote.com is the website of computer scientist Andrew S. Tanenbaum. The site's primary content is poll analysis to project the outcome of U.S. elections. The site also includes commentary on related news stories. Well known for its color-coded electoral map of the United States, the...
, compared major pollsters' performances in the 2010 midterm Senate elections and concluded that Quinnipiac was the most accurate, with a mean error of 2.0 per cent.