Bigger and Better Than Ever: Calling for 10th Annual Arkansas Poll Begins Oct. 1

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Janine Parry

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – In a campaign season marked by almost non-stop polling, there is one poll in which residents of Arkansas will want their voices heard, according to political scientist Janine Parry – the Arkansas Poll. Calling for the 10^th annual Arkansas Poll begins Wednesday, Oct. 1.

“Each year the Arkansas Poll provides policymakers around the state with the information they need to understand the opinions and concerns of state residents,” Parry said. “This year – our 10th anniversary – we will be polling more Arkansans than ever and will be able to break down the results by congressional district to make the information even more valuable to our elected officials.”

While the Arkansas Poll usually collects a statewide sample of about 750 people, this year’s poll has been doubled to collect responses from about 1,500 people statewide, or 500 for each congressional district. Over the past nine years, the polltakers have spent more than 2,200 hours talking to about 7,000 Arkansans and expect to add another 500 hours to the total this year.

Molly Longstreth, who directs the university’s Survey Research Center, explained how to recognize a call from the Arkansas Poll:

“Staff will begin by introducing themselves. Then they will say, ‘I'm calling from the University of Arkansas Survey Research Center. The political science department is conducting the Arkansas Poll to learn from concerned residents about important issues in politics.’ We hope when you hear those words, you will agree to participate in this significant civic opportunity.”

For most of its 10 years, the Arkansas Poll has been funded by the Diane D. Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society, and the center was a driving force behind the expansion of the poll in its 10th year. The center was established in 2001 to honor the legacy of Diane Blair, a former University of Arkansas political scientist, who devoted more than 30 years of research, teaching and public outreach to the state of Arkansas.

This year’s poll includes questions about state ballot measures, the performance of public figures, and opinions and preferences in the presidential election. Among the issues included in the poll questions are immigration, gas and oil drilling and the Iraq war.

In addition to policymakers, the results of the Arkansas Poll are used by government services such as the Cooperative Extension Service. By knowing what is on the mind of Arkansans from year to year, the extension service is better able to develop programs that educate consumers and answer their questions.

The Survey Research Center has conducted the Arkansas Poll throughout its 10-year history.

“We at the Survey Research Center are proud to have collected the data for the Arkansas Poll for 10 years,” Longstreth said. “We’re honored to have talked with so many Arkansans and enabled them to have a voice in state and national politics.”

Parry is an associate professor of political science in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. Results and questions from past Arkansas Polls are available at http://new-www3.uark.edu/ARKPoll/.

The Blair Center is also a program of the Fulbright College. For more information, see the Blair Center’s Web site at http://www.uark.edu/ua/tshield/.