| political socialization | the process by which we develop our political values and opinions throughout our lives
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| agents of socialization | the individuals, organizations, and institutions that facilitate the acquisition of political views
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| gender gap | the measurable difference in the way women and men vote for candidates and in the way they view political issues
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| generational effect | the impact of an important external event in shaping the views of a generation
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| public opinion | the public's expressed views about an issue at a specific point in time
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| public opinion poll | a survey of a given population's opinion on an issue or a candidate at a particular point in time
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| straw poll | a poll conducted in an unscientific manner, used to predict election outcomes
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| population | in a poll, the group of people whose opinions are of interest and/or about whom information is desired
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| random sampling | a scientific method of selection for a poll in which each member of the population has an equal chance at being included in the sample
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| quota sample | a method by which pollsters structure a sample so that it is representative of the characteristics of the target population
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| stratified sampling | a process of random sampling in which the national population is divided into fourths and certain areas within these regions are selected as representative of the national population
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| sampling error | also called margin of error; a statistical calculation of the difference in results between a poll of a randomly drawn sample and a poll of the entire population
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| tracking polls | polls that measure changes in public opinion over the course of days, weeks, or months by repeatedly asking respondents the same questions and measuring changes in their responses
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| push polls | a special type of poll that both provides information to campaigns about candidate strengths and weaknesses and attempts to skew public opinion about a candidate
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| exit polls | polls conducted at polling places on Election Day to project the winner of an election before the polls close
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