Great polling is as complex and detailed as "successful heart surgery," according to Gallup Editor-in-Chief Frank Newport as quoted in The Christian Science Monitor's new in-depth report on how Gallup conducts its polls.
The article is based on several weeks of research and interviews conducted by Jennifer Tulumello on her quest to learn about the craft of survey data collection. Gallup gave Tulumello access to sit in on conference calls and watch interviewers in action in order to better understand how Gallup collects the data it reports to the world every day.
While Gallup's mission is to scientifically measure and quantify the views of the people, the article notes, "Gallup uses humans to craft the polls and conduct them." Tulumello details the many steps of the polling process from how the survey questions are selected, to the interviewing center to how Gallup ensures that its polls are nationally representative.
Tulumello shadows veteran Gallup interviewer Mike Jablonski as he conducts interviews for a political poll and shines the spotlight on superstar Gallup interviewer Ed Dubas, who is on track to complete his 100,000th interview by the year's end.
Go behind the scenes at Gallup by reading the article.