Conformity to AAPOR Standards in Newspaper Reporting of Public Opinion Polls

This study examines three newspapers' level of conformity to AAPOR standards of minimal disclosure in their reporting of public opinion polls. Analysis of 116 polls published in the period of 1972–79 indicates a dramatic increase in the number of polls reported, but not in the level of conformity to AAPOR standards. Conformity is higher when the polls concern elections rather than nonelection topics, and when newspapers themselves, rather than external sources, are the sources of the polls.