The South Dakota Polling Project
The South Dakota Polling Project is a research unit of the political science program housed in the School of American and Global Studies at 日本av视频. In the spirit of our land-grant mission, we utilize our expertise in political science to analyze issues that are important to South Dakotans from an objective, scientific and nonpartisan perspective. Recently, we have been fielding several polls on the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on the lives and families of South Dakota. We also partner and collaborate with professors from fields outside of political science to explore research questions in a truly transdisciplinary manner. Additionally, we give select students the opportunity to work side by side with faculty and develop the highly demanded skills of data collection, programming and statistical analysis.
In the News
The work of The South Dakota Polling Project has been featured regularly in a variety of national and international media outlets. Some of the attention comes to bear when our poll has valuable information when South Dakota makes national or international news. At other times, our academic research has generated interest or is applicable to a wide ranging audience. Outlets that have featured our work include: Vanity Fair, ABC News, The Hill, The Washington Post, USA Today, PBS The News Hour and Berlingske from Copenhagen Denmark.
We are also regularly featured in state and regional media outlets, as we actively maintain good working relations with reporters in these organizations. This is because a key component of our mission is to provide information that is of benefit to the state of South Dakota and its residents. Regional mentions include: South Dakota Public Broadcasting, In the Moment, KELOLAND News, Dakota News Now, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, South Dakota Standard, Rapid City Journal, South Dakota News Watch and the Mitchell Republic.
The South Dakota Polling Project utilizes a new and innovative technique of random sampling the electorate that matches the most sophisticated methods of conducting a survey to the most reliable means of citizen contact. This method can be employed at any level in the state: statewide, county, city, legislative district or any other geographical unit that a researcher wishes to cover. Our surveys can be fine-tuned depending upon the needs of the current research project. Respondents complete online surveys, which allows for the development of sophisticated questionnaires. The sample is then carefully weighted on known population parameters such as region, age and other demographics to make it as representative of the population as possible. Simply put, the South Dakota Polling Project conducts some of the most comprehensive, sophisticated, detailed and accurate polling of the South Dakota electorate today. In addition to polls of the electorate, we have also conducted more specialized polls of specific groups such as agricultural producers and nurses using different random sampling methods.
Please contact David Wiltse if you have any questions about the poll you want answered, or if you wish to inquire about commissioning poll work on the South Dakota electorate.
