How the AP-Times Square Alliance poll on 2014 and the year ahead was conducted

The Associated Press-Times Square Alliance poll was conducted by GfK Public Affairs and Corporate Communications Dec. 12-14. It is based on online interviews of 1,017 adults who are members of GfK’s nationally representative KnowledgePanel.

The poll is a co-operative effort between AP and the organizers of the Times Square New Year’s Eve Celebration, the Times Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment. The Alliance is a non-profit group that seeks to promote Times Square, and Countdown Entertainment represents the owners of One Times Square and the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop.

The original sample was drawn from respondents recruited by phone or mail survey methods. GfK provides Internet access to participants who don’t already have it. With a probability basis and coverage of people who otherwise couldn’t access the Internet, online surveys using KnowledgePanel are nationally representative.

Interviews were conducted in English.

As is done routinely in surveys, results were weighted, or adjusted, to ensure that responses accurately reflect the population’s makeup by factors such as age, sex, race, education and phone use.

No more than 1 time in 20 should chance variations in the sample cause the results to vary by more than plus or minus 3 percentage points from the answers that would be obtained if all adults in the U.S. were polled.

There are other sources of potential error in polls, including the wording and order of questions.

The questions and results are available at http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com .