Definition of Instant Response Polling
Whenever a president or other political figure makes a nationally televised speech, it is almost certain that broadcast and cable networks will devote extensive air time to analyzing the address and audience reactions, citing a range of polling data. Political consultants, campaign managers and others use a technique known as instant response polling to gauge immediate responses to political communications. One leading pollster praises the technique, but methodological reservations exist.
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Identification
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In politics, instant response polling is a survey and focus group research method that studies subjects' reactions to political speeches and campaign commercials, according to the website pollster.com. Through instant response polls, political consultants, pollsters and other researchers attempt to gauge how focus group members of survey respondents respond to the message of a candidate or campaign.
Features
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Some instant response polling involves telephone surveys. A pollster for cable network CNN, for example, contacts respondents who plan to watch, for example, a president's speech a few days in advance. After the speech, the polling organization contacts as many of these people as possible to gauge immediate reactions. A focus group method of instant response polling, favored by political pollster Frank Luntz, gives each focus group participant a hand-held computer device operated by a dial or buttons. Participants use this device to register their immediate reactions to a televised speech or campaign commercial in real time. A portable computer records focus group members' responses.
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Benefits
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Luntz says instant response polling in focus groups, by gathering audience responses in real time, enables pollsters, campaign consultants and other political researchers to determine the exact words and visuals have the greatest effect on listeners and viewers. This allows consultants to better determine what parts of a speech or commercial enhance the overall message and which should be changed or removed.
Expert Insight
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Frank Luntz calls the computerized system of instant response polling a powerful, state-of-the-art qualitative tool for measuring exact reactions to political messages and candidates. He noted that former President Bill Clinton made extensive use of instant response techniques to tailor his words and mannerisms. George H.W. Bush used the method to prepare for presidential debates in his successful 1988 presidential campaign.
Warning
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Pollster.com points out that instant response polls are not intended to represent the views of all Americans, as they survey only people who watch, for example, a presidential speech. The website further points out that fans and supporters of the president or politician speaking are more likely to watch the speech, therefore skewing the composition of the survey sample. Finally, pollster.com cautioned that instant responses by viewers and listeners tend to be more positive immediately after the speech or commercial.
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References
Resources
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