2004 Election Panel Study Sampling Design
The BYU-UW Election Panel was designed to
provide not only a nationally representative sample of the electorate
but also to provide substantial numbers of cases in both presidential
and U.S. Senate "battleground" states. To accomplish this, the design
oversampled both types of battleground states, and added stand alone
samples of Ohio and Florida.
The sample defines five strata: non-battleground states, Senate-only
battleground, presidential battleground, Ohio and Florida. The
Senate-only strata are states with potentially competitive Senate
contests but with a non-competitive presidential race. The presidential
battleground states may also contain a competitive Senate race, but need
not.
In order to use the study you MUST weight the data to take account of
the unequal selection probabilities for respondents in the various
strata. This weight variable is named "weight" in the dataset.
The first link below describes the final sample design as executed. This
is the most important description of the sample for users to read in
order to understand the sample design, the weights, and the
characteristics of the final sample.
The subsequent "sample development" links provide a full description of
the sampling design process, the alternatives considered, the decisions
taken, and the evolution of the design over time. These are useful for
those more interested in the technical decisions or in the changes that
were made over the course of developing the study. Users should ALWAYS
consult the FIRST link below for the properties of the final sample, NOT
the earlier sample designs which changed as the final design was
developed.
The memos below describe
the development of the sample design. The sample characteristics and
weights are different from those in the final design above due to the
evolution of the design. Use these only to understand what
considerations entered into the design of the BYU/UW Election Panel.
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A discussion of the initial sample design and
tradeoffs can be viewed here.
(PDF format)
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The revised sample with Florida replacing the
Pennsylvania domain can be viewed
here. (PDF
format)
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The revised sample design with a smaller Florida
sample size can be viewed here.
(PDF format)
