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Video: How precise are polls really?

Pew Research Center · Sara Atske · last updated
How precise are polls…really? Courtney Kennedy let’s us in on a little secret: even the best pollsters need some wiggle room when sharing results. This “wiggle room” (also known as the margin of error) is the range within the true answer likely falls.  

Related Knowledge Center: Polls and polling

State of Play

Polls are considered essential to the businesses of politics and journalism. What they contribute to the quality of political journalism is subject to debate. 


More informationabout Polls and polling