Polling and Data Gathering Methods
The Huffington Post:
They don’t so much poll themselves as they report the results of every public poll that claims to provide a representative sample of the population or electorate. Their process is more to do with choosing which polls are worth showing and including to get their data. To that end, all polls used have to meet the minimal disclosure requirements of the National Council on Public Polling. They also weed out polls that fail to disclose survey dates, sample size and sponsorship. In addition, they only include closed-ended trial heat poll questions, and will not include any open-ended questions or those that provide information that will not be on the ballot. In short, they have a thurough vetting process for their data gathering, and a high standard for what they use.
Politifact:
Political statements are rated on a case-by-case. They follow the major political figures and collect statements made by them, and then start the process of reviewing its factual accuracy. A writer researches the claim and writes the Truth-O-Meter article with a recommended ruling. After the article is edited, it is reviewed by a panel of at least three editors that determines the Truth-O-Meter ruling.
FiveThirtyEight:
Predictions based not on polling data alone, but a statistical model driven mostly by demographic and past vote data. Is a poll aggregator site, which means it predicts upcoming elections and such by gathering and averaging pre-election polls published by others.
FiveThirtyEight’s pollster ratings are calculated by analyzing the historical accuracy of each firm’s polls along with its methodology. Accuracy scores are adjusted for the type of election polled, a firm’s sample size, the performance of other polls surveying the same race, and other factors. They also calculate measures of statistical bias in the polls.
Real Clear Politics:
Aggregates polls for presidential and congressional races into averages, taking from a wide range of sources. Honestly seems to just cast a wide net and pull the average, and I can’t find any more detailed clarification.
