In an unprecedented internal report on its 2012 Romney blunder, Gallup says it made mistakes in its core samples, including its racial makeup and political ideology, as well as its overall methodology.Gallup’s audit, however, also says the entire industry is due for an overhaul, with some of the leading firms using analog, black-and-white methods in a digital, multicultural world. Case in point: the rise of the cell phone and the fall of public engagement in opinion surveys.Besides not being tied to a fixed address – it’s not unusual for owners to have a different area code than where they actually live, and the numbers usually aren’t listed in the white pages – cell phones provide more control over its users’ privacy than a landline. It’s likely, analysts say, that the ability to screen or block incoming calls has accelerated the public’s unwillingness to take part in what used to be considered a civic duty.[RELATED: Who Are Donald Trump’s Voters? The Less Engaged and Less Informed]”Everyone in the industry is worried about the falling response rate,” Tourangeau says.
Source: Why Public Opinion Polls Are Increasingly Inaccurate – US News