Background Memo  

The most recent poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind in Delaware was conducted by telephone from Oct. 18 through Oct. 24 using a statewide, randomly selected sample of 502 likely voters. The sampling error for 502 respondents is +/- 4.4 percentage points at the 95 percent level of confidence.  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. All PublicMind interviews are conducted by TMR, Inc. of Cedar Knolls, NJ. using professional interviewers. Random selection >is achieved through computerized random-digit dialing. This technique gives every person with a phone number (including those with unlisted numbers) an equal chance of being selected.

The wording of the questions included in this release are as follows:

Question: Now, turning to Iraq… How well is the U.S. military effort in Iraq going…?

Question:  Have you heard of [rotate list]? If you haven't just tell me. [If yes, ask:] Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of …? Would that be very or somewhat?

Question: Later this year there will be an election for Delaware's U .S. Senator between Tom Carper, the Democrat and Jan Ting, the Republican? So far, how much have you heard or read about this race…[READ]?

Question:  If the election for U.S. Senate were held right now, and you had to make a choice, which candidate would you vote for… or … ?  [If “unsure” ask:] Which way do you lean…or…?

Question Ordering: Questions about President Bush and the military action in Iraq were placed either before questions about the Senate race or after the questions about the Senate race.

 

see also:
Survey Analysis
Republican Response

Democratic Response
Tabular Results

Copyright © 2006, Fairleigh Dickinson University. All rights reserved. FDU PublicMind Poll [Latest update 061031]