Background Memo  

The most recent polls by Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind were conducted by telephone from May 29 through June 3.  One was a national, randomly selected sample of 776 adults, aged 18 and over who report they are registered to vote. The sampling error for 776 is +/- 3.5 percentage points at the 95 percent level of confidence.  During the same timeframe, 602 randomly selected New Jersey registered voters were also interviewed. The sampling error for 602 is +/- 4 percentage points at the 95 percent level of confidence. Sampling error for subgroups is larger and varies with the size of the subgroup: 41% of the national sample and 60% of the statewide sample reported having watched The Sopranos yielding margins of +/-5.5 and 5 respectively. Survey results are also subject to non-sampling error. This kind of error, which cannot be measured, arises from a number of factors including, but not limited to, non-response (eligible individuals refusing to be interviewed), question wording, the order in which questions are asked, and variations among interviewers. PublicMind interviews are conducted by professionally trained interviewers use a CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) system. Random selection >is achieved by computerized random-digit dialing. This technique gives every person with a phone number (including those with unlisted numbers) an equal chance of being selected. Samples may be mathematically weighted to match known demographics.

Question: Have you ever watched the television program, The Sopranos? If you can't get the show on your TV, just tell me.

Question: If  “yes” ask: How much have you seen of The Sopranos over the years…READ?

• many episodes
• some
• just a few
• none

Question: Some have criticized the show for [attribute]. Do agree or disagree with this criticism?

• Sexually explicit scenes/dialog
• Offensive/vulgar language
• Excessive/graphic violence
• Glorifying organized crime
• Portraying Italian-Americans in a negative way.

Question: Do you think of The Sopranos as just a story or do you think it's pretty much telling the truth about the people and events it depicts?

Question: By the way, do know what state in the country The Sopranos is supposed to take place in?

Question:  The very last episode of The Sopranos will take place very soon. How do you think the series should end? Should Tony Soprano… or …at the end of the story?  Should he…

• Die --
  • Be killed by police
  • Be killed by other criminals
  • Die a natural death, like a heart attack or stroke
• live --
  • Continue as a mobster
  • go to prison
  • turn honest

see also:
Survey Analysis
Tabular Results