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Abstract The past two decades have witnessed significant changes in how survey research is conducted in Britain. One of the most important innovations is the use of national internet surveys. Internet surveys are now used by the national media and the British Election Study to provide information on party support and the dynamics of public opinion on a wide variety of topics. The survey house YouGov has played a pioneering role in these developments. YouGov’s track record of “getting it right”, i.e., of providing accurate forecasts of the results of several major elections, has convinced many – not all – observers that online surveys will have a major role to play in future studies of voting and elections. This paper describes the historical development and current status of internet polling in Britain, focusing on the survey methods employed by YouGov. The paper concludes by discussing future innovations in online survey research.
Joe Twyman (Mon,) studied this question.