polling

Let’s take a moment to consider the model underlying the researchers’ work. The video is 2 minutes long, but watching even for a short while will give you the model’s best visualization.  

The U.S. presidential election just came to a close, but the postmortem is just beginning. Both candidates will wonder why they didn't perform better, and pollsters will wonder the same.

Candidate Gobermouch is leading in the polls over Candidate Fopdoodle, 48% to 43%, a difference of 5 percentage points. The poll's margin of error is 3%. Does Gobermouch have a lead over Fopdoodle that is outside the margin of error?

The statement, "Statistics isn't science," is about as banal as, "The sky is blue," or, "Puppies are cute." Anyone remotely familiar with the scientific method understands that, just like a ruler or a telescope, statistics is a tool.

Every four years, Americans become obsessed with The Polls. What do the polls say? Have the polls shifted? Which presidential candidate is up, and which is down?

Imagine you receive a phone call from a pollster. When you answer, the person on the other end asks, "For whom do you plan to vote in November: The honest and trustworthy Mr. Smith, or his lying, cheating, and disgusting opponent Mr.