Publication Date
5-21-2020
Abstract
[1] Though this question was intended to measure where respondents went for information they trust on COVID-19, it was worded as “news you can trust on COVID-19,” thereby possibly predisposing the respondent to indicate news organizations over other individuals or organizations. This question was asked open-ended and then coded into categories based on responses.
About the Tennessee Poll
The Tennessee Poll is conducted by the Applied Social Research Lab (ASRL) in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at East Tennessee State University. ASRL is directed by Dr. Kelly N. Foster, associate professor of sociology.
The Tennessee Poll is an annual public opinion poll funded by East Tennessee State University. The mission of The Tennessee Poll is to provide the citizens and governance of Tennessee with neutral, unbiased information on Tennesseans’ perceptions of issues that impact their health, education, and quality of life.
Though the project has been internally funded to date, there exists the possibility of outside researchers or organizations being given the option to purchase space for questions on future polls. Should this occur, any and all funding sources will be noted in the methodology report for that particular poll.
The Applied Social Research Lab is a member of the Association of Academic Survey Research Organizations (AASRO) and adheres to the reporting requirements of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative standards in research reporting.
For detailed information on The Tennessee Poll, including methodology and additional analysis, please visit www.etsu.edu/asrl/tnpoll.
Survey Methodology
The Tennessee Poll uses random digit dialing (RDD) to ensure that all Tennesseans are represented. Phone numbers were drawn from a dual frame RDD sample of cell phone and landline numbers. Braun Research Inc. acquired the cell phone sample and completed the telephone interviews. It is important to note that this particular Tennessee Poll (poll #5) was fielded during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though ASRL maintains an active computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) lab for research purposes that utilizes ETSU student callers, the phone lab was closed due to state regulations during this time. Braun Research Inc. had capabilities and utilized secure remote calling with their phone interviewers during this time so in addition to acquiring the sample, they also completed the interviews.
The final sample includes a total of 618 completed interviews, 188 completed by landline (30% percent) and 430 completed by cell phone (70% percent). The final data are weighted by age, education, gender, and race to adjust for differential response rates in order to assure that the data are as representative of the state’s actual adult population as closely as possible. The margin of error for a sample of 618 is +/- 3.9 percentage points at the 95% confidence level for the entire sample. Any subpopulation analysis entails a greater margin of error. For detailed methodology on The Tennessee Poll as well as margin of error reports and additional analysis, please go to www.etsu.edu/asrl/tnpoll.
About the Authors
Candace Forbes Bright, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of sociology and faculty affiliate of the Applied Social Research Lab (ASRL) at ETSU. Her expertise is in research methodology and social issues, including public health and race.
Kelly N. Foster, Ph.D., is an associate professor of sociology and director of the Applied Social Research Lab (ASRL) at ETSU. Her expertise is in survey research methodology and she has worked in public opinion research for 17 years. She is a member in good standing of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) and currently serves on the executive council for the Association of Academic Survey Research Organizations (AASRO) where ASRL is a member organization. She is a co-editor of Polling America: An Encyclopedia of Public Opinion, Second Edition, due out in September 2020.
Morgan Kidd, M.A., is the assistant director for the Applied Social Research Lab (ASRL) at ETSU. She received her Master of Arts in Sociology from ETSU. She is an active member in good standing with the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) and is active with the International Field Directors & Technologies Conference annually.
Document Type
News Article
