If you’re being called to participate in the Winthrop Poll, the ID will either show “Winthrop Survey” or an 803 area code phone number (or both). Our interviewers will also leave a voicemail message to let you know why we are calling and to let you know that we will call you back soon and that you may also call us back to take the survey or schedule a time to be called back.
The Winthrop Poll calls random samples of the population we are interviewing (either South Carolina or all Southern states) so that everyone within that population has an equal opportunity of being selected. This means that people cannot volunteer to take the survey.
Results from all Winthrop Polls can be found on our Poll Results page.
The Winthrop Poll is funded solely by Winthrop University. The CPOPR is nonpartisan and will, therefore, not accept funding from political candidates, parties, or organizations.
Since we do not interview everyone in our target population, results may slightly differ from the actual opinions of the population as a whole. Results are, therefore, reported with a Margin of Error to denote how close our results are to the whole population. A survey may find that 60% of South Carolinians support a candidate and the Margin of Error is 2%, meaning the actual percentage of South Carolinians who support this candidate is likely between 58% and 62%.
To achieve a representative sample of a population, we do not need to interview everyone – only a small portion of the population. When a doctor wants to know what is going on in your body, do they take all of your blood? No! They only need a small amount which can give them a picture of what is going on in the body as a whole. Survey sampling works in the same way.
Interviewers are at the heart of what we do at the CPOPR. Interviewers collect data for research projects by administering surveys to respondents over the phone. Interviewers work at a calling station in the CPOPR’s lab for 3-4 hours at a time alongside several other interviewers. We expect interviewers to demonstrate professionalism and courtesy over the phone with potential respondents, and dedicate themselves to gaining survey cooperation, even from reluctant respondents.
The CPOPR looks for motivated and reliable individuals with the ability to learn, adhere to proper survey methodology, and speak with all types of people over the phone.
Interviewers have the ability to create their own schedule.
Current CPOPR calling hours:
Monday-Friday: 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Saturday: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Sunday: 2:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Definitely! Conducting scientific public opinion research demands that interviewers adhere to proper survey research methodology. All new interviewers will receive general interviewer training. Successful completion of training is a prerequisite to continued employment.
For more information, see Interviewer Training.
The CPOPR hires on an as-needed basis. E-mail Leah McMillan at mcmillanL@winthrop.edu to find out about the next employment opportunity.
