Quinnipiac University Polling Institute
| Company type | Public opinion research organization |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public opinion polling |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Headquarters | Hamden , United States |
Area served | United States (including numerous pivotal states and national polling) |
Number of employees | Approximately 310 (300 interviewers plus 10 staff members) |
| Parent | Quinnipiac University |
| Website | poll |
The Quinnipiac University Poll is a public opinion research organization located at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. It conducts surveys in numerous pivotal states such as Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin, in addition to national polling efforts. The poll functions autonomously from any academic department and is overseen by Quinnipiac’s public relations office.
With reductions in media funding, university-affiliated polls like Quinnipiac’s have risen in influence; in 2017, Politico identified it as "the leading entity among a group of universities that have developed a national polling presence." Its scope exceeds other academic polls such as the Franklin & Marshall College Poll, which is limited to Pennsylvania.
The operation employs around 300 interviewers, roughly one-quarter of whom are students majoring in political science, communications, psychology, or sociology, while the remaining interviewers come from outside the university. A full-time team of ten staff members manage daily functions. Quinnipiac University does not publicly reveal the poll’s budget and the poll does not accept external clients or funding sources.
History
The polling initiative began informally in 1988 as part of a marketing course and was institutionalized in 1996 when the university brought on a CBS News analyst to assess the data. Initially concentrating on Northeastern states, it broadened its coverage during presidential election cycles to include critical swing states. Supported financially by Quinnipiac University, the poll has played a significant role in increasing the university’s enrollment through extensive media exposure.
In 2007, the Quinnipiac University Poll expanded into a new two-story facility that doubled its capacity to 160 calling stations, allowing for concurrent polling across multiple states. This expansion addressed operational challenges revealed during the 2006 Connecticut Senate race, when other polls had to be suspended to reallocate resources.
The poll is frequently referenced by prominent North American and European media outlets including The Washington Post, Fox News, USA Today, The New York Times, CNN, and Reuters. It is nationally acknowledged for its independent political and policy surveys, serving both public interest and academic research objectives. Its findings are also incorporated by ABC News’s FiveThirtyEight. Electoral analyst Andrew S. Tanenbaum from Electoral-vote.com ranked Quinnipiac as the most precise major pollster during the 2010 midterm Senate elections, noting an average error margin of 2.0 percent.
In 2018, Politico highlighted that Quinnipiac’s stature is partly due to effective self-marketing strategies. The poll reports directly to the university’s public affairs division rather than an academic unit and has engaged prominent publicists and journalists to amplify its media visibility.
Methodology
The Quinnipiac University Poll employs a random digit dialing technique, utilizing live interviewers drawn from university students and local residents of Hamden, with a team of approximately 100 to 200 callers. These interviewers reach out to both landline and mobile phone numbers, which are provided by the market research company Dynata. For calls that are not answered, the pollsters attempt up to four callbacks. When more than one person answers within a household, the interviewer selects the respondent whose birthday is nearest in the future to approximate a random choice. Typically, each poll is conducted over a span of five days and aims to gather responses from around 1,500 participants.
The collected data is weighted according to demographic information from the US Census, adjusting for factors such as age, education level, gender, race, and geographic location.
Quinnipiac’s surveys target American adults aged 18 and older, utilizing screening questions to identify registered voters as well as those considered likely to vote. As election dates approach, the focus shifts primarily toward likely voters in their political polling efforts.
See also
- Suffolk University Political Research Center
- Monmouth University Polling Institute
- Siena Research Institute
- Marist Institute for Public Opinion