AMERICANS' KNOWLEDGE OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
A Columbia Law Survey
May 2002

 -Introduction

 -Technical Information

 -CARAVAN Telephone Sampling Methodology

 -Reliability of Survey Percentages

 -Sampling Tolerances When Comparing Two Samples

 -Introduction to Detailed Tabulations

 -Significance Testing

 -Detailed Tabulations (requires Adobe Acrobat)

 -Questionnaire

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Completed interviews are weighted by four variables: age, sex, geographic region, and race, to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the total population, 18 years of age and older. The raw data are weighted by a custom designed program which automatically develops a weighting factor for each respondent. Each respondent is assigned a single weight derived from the relationship between the actual proportion of the population with its specific combination of age, sex, geographic characteristics and race and the proportion in our CARAVAN sample that week. Tabular results show both weighted and unweighted bases.

The use of replicable sampling, standardized interviewing procedures and representative weighting provides that all CARAVAN studies are parallel to one another. Thus, CARAVAN usage is appropriate both for point-in-time analysis as well as tracking and trend comparisons.

Included in the Technical Information which follows are tables of sampling tolerances of survey results, and a copy of the question series as it appeared in the survey questionnaire.

As required by the Code of Standards of the Council of American Survey Research Organizations, we will maintain the anonymity of our respondents. No information will be released that in any way will reveal the identity of a respondent. Our authorization is required for any publication of the research findings or their implications.

Opinion Research Corporation's CARAVAN is a shared-cost data collection vehicle. Opinion Research Corporation has exercised its best efforts in the preparation of this information. In any event, Opinion Research Corporation assumes no responsibility for any use which is made of this information or any decisions based upon it.

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