The Meredith Poll is a way in which Meredith College commits to civic engagement and asks North Carolinians for their opinions on a variety of topics, according to The Meredith Poll Website. The Meredith Poll was launched in the spring of 2015 and “is the only North Carolina survey research organization that focuses on issues pertaining to women” according to the Meredith Poll Website. Since its inception in 2015, the Meredith Poll has continually adapted to shifting public opinion, using innovative methods and engaging with Meredith students to capture the perspectives and ideas of North Carolinians.
Today, polling with live callers can be challenging due to things such as caller screening. The Meredith Poll has adapted and implemented other ways to collect their data. Dr. David McLennan, director of the poll, stated that the Meredith Poll “only use[s] live callers—Meredith students—occasionally. Most polling organizations have moved away from live caller polling [for] reasons [one] may imagine—people screen their calls, for example.” Additionally, Dr. McLennan added that “as such, using live callers is very inefficient and leads to a lot of frustration for the callers.” The Meredith Poll uses call screening “less frequently” than in previous years when the poll first began.
The Meredith Poll actively involves students from various disciplines where students can contribute to the formulation of survey questions. Dr. McLennan explained that “not only have political science students contributed questions, but students in religion and business [majors] have done so as well. Students also assist with data analysis.”
In response to recent events, such as the Dobbs decision and legislative matters like Medicaid expansion, Dr. MeLennan shared that The Meredith Poll tries to "survey the attitudes of North Carolinians on issues of importance to them. For example, for the last 18 months, since the Dobbs’ decision was leaked (and then formally made)," The Meredith Poll has been "surveying citizens about their approval of that decision and, later, the direction North Carolina law should go." Dr. McLennan also added that The Meredith Poll attempts to "get at major legislation that might appear in the NC legislature, like Medicaid expansion (this happened) or about policy that affects the public schools.” By gauging public perspectives on these changing issues, the Poll provides an understanding of North Carolinians’ “approval of [each] decision and, later, the direction North Carolina law should go,” according to Dr. McLennan.
The Meredith Poll, according to Dr. McLennan, “routinely measure political polarization and have found that North Carolinians are extremely polarized, not as much on policy issues, but in terms of affective partisanship.” in terms of dissatisfaction levels with the direction of the United States and North Carolina,Dr. McLennan added that people are angry for a variety of reasons and an example being that “Democrats are angry at Congress and the General Assembly for passing (or not passing) legislation. Republicans are angry at Joe Biden and Roy Cooper.”
To uphold the Poll’s integrity, many measures are taken to guarantee the accuracy and reliability of the collected data. Dr. McLennan explained that those involved in the poll test the questions to “ensure that there is no inherent bias in the wording or in the ordering of the questions.” Furthermore, he shared that when the sample is constructed, those involved in the poll attempt to be representative of the population they are polling. As such, Dr. McLennan notes that they weigh the data to ensure that no groups, such as Democrats or Republicans for example, “are over or underrepresented.” Each time the Meredith Poll releases its results, they “publish a clear description of [their] processes.” Anyone interested in the results could read about what The Meredith Poll does, replicate the process, and achieve similar results according to Dr. McLennan.
The Meredith Poll - Student Impact section states that “The Meredith Poll was created to help students develop skills that will assist them at Meredith and in their careers. Since the Poll’s founding in 2015, students have been involved in the construction of the surveys, data collection and analysis, and promotion of the results.” The Meredith Poll website has a list of poll archives that individuals can access.
By Miriya Carson, Contributing Writer
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