What the Public Knows - In Words and Pictures
Overview
Before you read the report, test your own News IQ by taking the interactive knowledge quiz. The short quiz includes many of the questions that were included in a national poll. Participants will instantly learn how they did on the quiz in comparison with the general public as well as with people like them.
Large majorities of the public know that Afghanistan and Pakistan share a border and can identify Hillary Clinton in a photograph as the nation’s secretary of state, according to the Pew Research Center’s latest News IQ survey, which for the first time includes visual questions.
While majorities answer most of the 19 questions correctly, some prove more difficult. About four-in-ten, for example, know that Republicans now hold a majority only in the House of Representatives or can identify the crescent and star from four visual choices as the symbol associated with Islam.
The new survey includes a mixture of standard multiple-choice items as well as questions that use photographs, maps and symbols. It was conducted completely online Sept. 30-Oct. 11, 2011, among a random sample of 1,168 adults by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
Of the 19 items on the survey, 10 are standard multiple-choice questions, many of which are similar or identical to those from previous political knowledge surveys. Of the other nine, five use pictures of public figures, two use maps and two use religious or political symbols. On average, quiz takers correctly answer 11.5 of the 19 items, for a score of 60% correct.
Seven of the 10 items with the most correct answers are visual questions. In addition to the large majority (82%) that correctly pick a photo of Hillary Clinton from four when asked which showed the current secretary of State, 79% select the name “Moammar Gadhafi” from a list of four when shown a photo of the former Libyan leader. On a map of South America with four nations numbered and highlighted, 77% correctly identify Brazil.
About as many (74%) correctly identify the Republican Party as the party associated with a symbol of an elephant. And 73% select a picture of Steve Jobs (from a set of four well-known technology executives) as the co-founder of Apple. Jobs died Oct. 5, while the online survey was being conducted.
Shown a picture of Ben Bernanke, 70% of those surveyed correctly select “chairman of the Federal Reserve” as his title. And 65% correctly choose U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s name from a list of four options when shown her picture.
One of the more difficult visual items is a question that asks respondents to identify Israel on a map of the Middle East region. Still, a majority (57%) is able to correctly pick Israel from a list of four countries in the region.
Of the items that do not include pictures, maps or symbols, the highest percentage correct is for a question about whether Afghanistan and Pakistan share a border (78% correctly say they do). Six-in-ten (61%) could pick Greece from a list when asked what European country is facing severe debt problems and possible default. About as many (58%) could correctly identify the current unemployment rate in the United States as approximately 9% (from a list of four choices).
Islamic Crescent and Star Not Widely Known
Majorities answered each of the visual questions correctly – except for the one that asked which of four symbols is associated with Islam. Just 42% correctly identify this symbol (answer #1 in the accompanying graphic). Perhaps because it may have reminded some people of Arabic characters, 34% incorrectly select symbol #4, which is Om, the symbol associated with Hinduism. The Star of David (Judaism) and the cross (Christianity) are chosen less frequently.
In a traditional text-only question, fewer than half (43%) know that the Republican Party holds a majority only in the House of Representatives. About 
one-fifth (21%) say that the GOP holds a majority in both houses; 15% say Republicans control only the Senate, 10% say they control neither chamber and 11% offer no response. Comparable percentages (46%) could identify the official poverty rate in the United States, and 47% know that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts is generally considered a conservative.
On the question about the poverty rate and another regarding the unemployment rate, most of the incorrect answers overestimated the rates. A majority of those polled (58%) correctly estimate the unemployment rate as closer to 9%; just 1% say the rate is closer to 5%, while 36% say it is either 15% or 21%.
While nearly half could identify the poverty rate as reported by the federal government as closer to 15%, more than a third (36%) chose the highest option – 30%. Just 10% selected the lower figures of 5% or 1%.
Partisan Differences in Knowledge
Republicans generally outperformed Democrats on the current quiz. On 13 out of the 19 questions, Republicans score significantly higher than Democrats and there are no questions on which Democrats did better than Republicans. In past knowledge quizzes, partisan differences have been more muted, though Republicans often have scored somewhat higher than Democrats.
Questions on current politics and on geography show particularly wide differences. For example, Republicans are 19 points more likely than Democrats to know that the Republican Party has a majority in just the House of Representatives, and 14 points more likely to know that John Boehner is the speaker of the House. On international questions, Republicans are much more likely to be able to identify Israel on a map (67% vs. 51%), and more likely to know that Greece is the European country experiencing debt problems (71% vs. 54%). Additionally, more Republicans than Democrats could locate Brazil on a map (84% vs. 73%).
Fewer Young People Identify Clinton, Know Jobless Rate
In past knowledge surveys, young people consistently answered fewer questions correctly than those in older age groups. That pattern holds in the current survey, but is less pronounced. On several questions, young people perform as well or better than older people.
Those ages 18 to 29 are much less likely than older people to correctly answer questions on topics such as the current secretary of state, the current unemployment rate and the number of U.S. fatalities in Afghanistan. Overall, those younger than 30 correctly answer about one question fewer (out of 19) than do those in older age groups.
Wide Educational Divide
As in the past, those with more education are much more likely than those with less education to answer the knowledge questions correctly. In the current survey, the most striking differences come on a number of international questions.
Eight-in-ten of those with at least a college degree (80%) could identify the country of Israel on a regional map. This compares with just 41% of those with no college experience – a 39-point gap. Similarly, those with a college degree were at least 30 points more likely than those with no college experience to correctly answer questions on non-domestic topics such as the symbol for Islam (crescent and star), the European country facing severe debt problems and possible default (Greece), and the prime minister of Great Britain (Cameron).
About the Survey
The analysis in this report is based on a web survey conducted September 30-October 11, 2011 among a sample of 1,168 adults, 18 years of age or older. The survey was conducted by Knowledge Networks (KN) among a random sample of households in their nationally representative online research panel. KN panel members are recruited through probability sampling methods and include both those with internet access and those without. (KN provides internet access for those who do not have it and, if needed, a device to access the internet, when they join the panel.) A combination of random digit dialing (RDD) sampling and address-based sampling (ABS) methodologies have been used to recruit panel members; in 2009 KN switched their sampling methodology from RDD to ABS. The panel includes households with landlines and cell phones, as well as those without a telephone. Both the RDD and ABS samples were provided by Marketing Systems Groups (MSG). KN continually recruits new panel members throughout the year, to offset panel attrition as people leave the panel. The survey was conducted in English. Respondents were selected randomly from eligible adult household members of the panel. All sampled members received an initial email on September 30 to notify them of the survey and included a link to the survey questionnaire. One follow-up reminder was sent to those who had not yet respondent on October 4.
The final sample for this survey was weighted using an iterative technique that matches gender, age, education, race, Hispanic origin, region, and metropolitan area (or not) to parameters from the August 2011 Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS). In addition, the sample is weighted to match current patterns of internet access from the October 2009 CPS survey. This weight is multiplied by an initial base or sampling weight that corrects for differences in the probability of selection of various segments of KN’s sample and by a panel weight that adjusts for any biases due to nonresponse and noncoverage at the panel recruitment stage (using all of the parameters mentioned above as well as household income and home ownership status). Details about the KN panel-level weights can be found at http://www.knowledgenetworks.com/knpanel/KNPanel-Design-Summary.html.
Sampling errors and statistical tests of significance take into account the effect of weighting at each of these stages. Sampling error for the total sample of 1,168 respondents is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points at the 95% level of confidence. Sample sizes and sampling errors for other subgroups are available upon request.
In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls.
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