Polls and Surveys
This page contains links to resources about Polls and Surveys.
Survey and poll data can be difficult to access as polls/surveys are often commissioned and paid for by an organization.
- The organization then owns the results of the research and can release it for free or for fee.
- Polling Companies do their own research so that they can sell the data to interested parties.
Survey and poll data can be difficult to evaluate for quality. Things to consider when you are evaluating the data are:
- Who commissioned the research (bias) ?
- What is the authority of the polling/survey company. ? Do they have a good reputation?
- How old is the data ?
- Who was surveyed?
- How the survey was conducted ?
- Sample - size and make up of sample used ? Was it random? Was it representative?
- Can you view the questions of the actual survey or poll. (bias)?
- Is the margin of error (MOE) high? the higher the margin of error the less you should rely on the data. MOE only accounts for random sampling error. It does not calculate for biases or poor samples for example.
Library Resources
The Gallup Poll : Public Opinion 2011 - Opens in a new window by ISBN: 9781442220331
The People's News : Media, Politics, and the Demands of Capitalism - Opens in a new window by Call Number: P94 .U83 2014ISBN: 9780814762868
Polls, Expectations, and Elections : TV news making in U.S. presidential campaigns - Opens in a new window by Call Number: PN4888.T4 .C73 2015ISBN: 9780739191507
Public Information Campaigns and Opinion Research : A Handbook for the Student and Practitioner - Opens in a new window by Call Number: JF2112.A4 P83 2002ISBN: 9781412932646
Advances in Business Statistics, Methods and Data Collection - Opens in a new window by ISBN: 1119672309Publication Date: 2023-02-07
Basics of social research : qualitative and quantitative approachesCall Number: HM571 .N48 2018ISBN: 9780134308050Publication Date: 2018
Committing sociology : research-inspired reflections on Canadian values and society - Opens in a new window by Call Number: HN110.Z9 M6 2016ISBN: 9780995066908
Polling and Public Opinion : a Canadian perspective - Opens in a new window by Call Number: HN103.5 .B88 2007ISBN: 9780802038999
Report on the findings of the oral health component of the Canadian health measures survey, 2007-2009 - Opens in a new window by Call Number: RK52.4.C2 C36 2010ISBN: 9781100156590- Street youth in Canada : findings from Enhanced Surveillance of Canadian Street Youth, 1999-2003 - Opens in a new window by Call Number: HV4509 .S77 2006ISBN: 9780662490692
- What mothers say : the Canadian Maternity Experiences Survey - Opens in a new window by Call Number: RG963.C2 W67 2009ISBN: 9781100108278
- Ipsos Canada Public Opinion Polls 2004-2015 - Opens in a new windowThis resource provides access to public opinion and polling data, published by Wilfrid Laurier University Library and donated by Ipsos Canada. This data covers subjects such as Canadian politics and elections, real estate buying habits, and youth interactions with government.
Ensure that only the ‘Public Opinion Polls’ collection type is selected and that you have searched for ‘IPSOS’.
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new windowA large and diverse collection of scholarly journals, magazines, and newspaper articles, as well as some books and conference proceedings. It covers most subject areas.
- Business Source Complete This link opens in a new windowArticles from scholarly business journals and magazines. It also includes country overviews, market research reports, company profiles, SWOT analyses, industry reports, and videos from the Harvard Faculty Seminar Series.
- Canadian Business & Current Affairs This link opens in a new windowChoose newspaper as resource type from limiters or use the Newspaper Search in Page 1+ to add Canadian news content to your results
A diverse collection of publications, including scholarly journals, trade publications, dissertations, books, newspapers and magazines. Covers Canadian studies, business, culture, current event, education, literature, agriculture, history, and language, as well as government and politics. - Canadian Major Dailies This link opens in a new windowChoose newspaper as resource type from limiters or use the Newspaper Search in Page 1+ to add Canadian news content to your results
National and leading regional newspapers, such as the National Post, the Globe and Mail, the Montreal Gazette, and the Ottawa Citizen. - IBISWorld This link opens in a new window*Not searchable in Page 1+. Search directly in database to access content.*
Industry market research reports containing statistics and analysis on market characteristics, current and forecast performance, and major industry participants covering the US, Canada, Mexico as well as NEW GLOBAL CONTENT including Asia Pacific and Europe - SocINDEX™ with Full Text This link opens in a new windowScholarly journals, magazines, books, dissertations and conference proceeding in the field of sociology. Topics include criminology, gender studies, family and marriage, social work and addictions.
- Statistics Canada This link opens in a new windowStatistical publications from Statistics Canada. It covers a range of subjects, including Aboriginal peoples, business, crime and justice, health, manufacturing, population, travel, and more.
- International Journal of Public Opinion Research - Opens in a new windowPresents information of interest to those involved in the field of public opinion research.
- Journal of Consumer ResearchAn interdisciplinary journal focusing on all aspects of consumer education.
- Public Opinion Quarterly - Opens in a new windowPrinceton University. School of Public Affairs, issuing body.; Princeton University.; Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, issuing body.; Columbia University. Advisory Committee on Communication, issuing body.; American Association for Public Opinion Research, issuing body.
Web Resources
- 338Canada OntarioThe 338Canada project is a statistical model of electoral projections based on opinion polls, electoral history, and demographic data. This web site is a creation of Philippe J. Fournier, physics and astrophysics professor at Cégep de Saint-Laurent in Montreal.
- Abacus Data - Opens in a new windowCanadian Research Firm with offices in Toronto and Ottawa. Includes limited free content. Free subscription to the inFocus podcast.
- EKOS Research Associates - Opens in a new windowEKOS is recognized as one of the largest suppliers of research and evaluation expertise to the public sector across Canada. Free content found under : "Media Centre > key studies and products and EKOS Public Domain Research.
- Elections Poll Tracker (CBC) 2021References data from National Opinion Polls conducted by research firms in Canada.
- Environics - Opens in a new windowLimited free content. At EA, we have Canada’s largest collection of high-quality, actionable data, and our list of sources and resulting data products is growing. More data are now updated weekly and monthly, leveraging new sources.
- Gallup - Opens in a new windowLimited poll reports available for free. more content with an account or subscription. Gallup operates more than 20 regional City Centers and collects data in over 160 countries to achieve our mission to create extraordinary impact through analytics and advice.
News tab (bottom of page) help to locate reported polls. - Harris Polls - Opens in a new windowSome free content. Founded in 1956, The Harris Poll is one of the longest running surveys in the U.S. tracking public opinion, motivations, and social sentiments. Every year, we poll millions of people on the trends that are shaping our modern world.
- Leger - Opens in a new windowLeger is the largest Canadian-owned market research and analytics company, with more than 600 employees in eight Canadian and US offices. Leger has been working with prestigious clients since 1986.
- Ontario Votes 2022Éric Grenier of TheWrit.ca breaks down where the polls stand ahead of Ontario’s June 2nd election.
- Public Opinion Research Reports (POR) - Opens in a new windowFind public opinion research (POR) reports that were contracted by the Government of Canada and submitted to Library and Archives Canada (LAC).
- 2021 Census Postsecondary Research Kit.This user-friendly toolkit is designed for use by college students looking to use census data in their research.
This new toolkit shows students:
• what types of data the census provides
• why census data matter
• how to find census data online, including data on different populations and regions
• how the data can be used to answer complex research questions. - CORA : Canadian Opinion Research AssociationThe Canadian Opinion Research Archive (CORA) at Queen's University makes available commercial and independent surveys to the academic, research and journalistic communities. Founded in 1992, CORA contains hundreds of surveys including thousands of discrete items collected by major commercial Canadian firms dating back to the 1970s.
- Media/Bias Fact CheckerWe are the most comprehensive media bias resource on the internet. There are currently 6700+ media sources, journalists, and politicians listed in our database and growing every day. Don’t be fooled by Questionable sources. Use the search feature above (Header) to check the bias of any source. Use name or URL.
- PEW Research Centre - Opens in a new windowPew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. We conduct public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research. We do not take policy positions.
- Statistics Canada - Data Reports - Opens in a new windowFree searchable content.
- Statistics Canada - The Daily - Opens in a new windowThe Daily is released Monday to Friday at 8:30 a.m.
Eastern time. It includes all Statistics Canada's news releases - Statistics Canada MegaTrends - Opens in a new windowCanadian Megatrends explores some of the sweeping changes that have had a lasting impact on Canadian society and economy.
- World Bank DataFree and open access to global development data
- Worldwide Governance IndicatorsThe Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) project reports aggregate and individual governance indicators for over 200 countries and territories over the period 1996–2021, for six dimensions of governance. The 2023 update of the Worldwide Governance Indicators, with data for the period 1996-2022, will be publicly available on Friday September 29, 2023.
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