Poll

Poll is a term commonly used to refer to a public opinion survey in which the main purpose is to collect information concerning people's opinions, preferences, perceptions, attitudes, and evaluations of public opinion issues. The performance of public officials, confidence in public and private institutions, enacted policies on topics such as poverty, education, taxes, immigration, public safety, the war on terror, same-sex marriage, abortion, or gun control are only some of the topics that polls typically focus upon. Also, the term poll is associated with the measurement of current presidential and congressional vote intention, using either candidates' actual names or generic references such as "Democrat" or "Republican" in order to forecast election results.

A poll is conducted on the basis of sampling principles; that is, a ...