Gallup recently conducted a poll measuring the Democratic Party's standing in public opinion. They published the article "Democratic Party's Favorable Rating Falls to Record Low" on November 12, 2014, which highlighted the rating of Democrats and Republicans, compared to their ratings since the question was asked for the first time in 1992. Although Democrats have clearly lost popularity, Republicans have shown little sign of improvement, indicating that people are dissatisfied with their government overall. The poll took place from November 6 to 9, following the midterm elections which largely favored the Republicans. The article mentions the rise of the Democratic Party after President Obama's re-election and its decline during his term, caused by various misadventures on the part of the Obama administration. The survey presented is one of the most reliable, not only because of the crucial aspects reported, but also because of the additional information provided to allow the reader to understand how it was conducted. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The majority of the article discusses how the popularity of the Democratic Party has fallen over the years, down to its all-time low of 36%. As mentioned previously, after President Obama's re-election, the rating peaked at 51% (Dugan 2014). This drastic change is due to difficulties encountered during the presidency, such as international crises and the negative response to Ebola in the United States, to name a few (Dugan 2014). The poll was conducted to determine the parties' standing in the public eye, with results showing that Americans are very unhappy with their government, which includes both parties. The survey was conducted by telephone, split equally between mobile and landline users. 828 people over the age of 18 were interviewed, including 430 men and 398 women. Phone calls were made using random dialing. The survey methodology attached to the article stated that the samples were "weighted to match national demographics." This additional information removes any doubt as to whether certain groups were excluded or specifically included. The sample size is rather small for the question asked, but the weighted samples make up for the lack of numbers. The wording of the question is an important factor in how the individual responds (Kollman 2014, 309). The wording in this case was: "We would like to know your overall opinion on certain people in the news." As you read each name, tell me whether you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of these people – or whether you have never heard of them” (Jones and Saad 2014). The names of government officials were then listed, in random order according to their political affiliation. This allows the individual to not associate the official with a specific party, focusing only on their name. The answer option “I haven’t heard of it” could be a problem. The individual may choose this option simply to have the survey completed sooner, if they are impatient or do not have much time. The margin of error for this survey was +4 percent with a confidence level of 95 percent (Jones and Saad 2014). The mention of the confidence level is additional information provided to assure the reader of the effectiveness of the survey. The article concludes that Democrats now have a “bruised image” (Gallup 2014), which has moved away from the GOP. There..