This Washington Post poll was conducted by telephone July 29 to August 2, 2015 among a
random national sample of 1,010 adults, including users of both conventional and
cellular phones. The results from the full survey have a margin of sampling error of
plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Sampling, data collection and tabulation by SSRS
of Media, Pa.
(Full methodological details appended at the end.)
*= less than 0.5 percent
1. Please tell me whether the first statement or the second statement comes closer to
your own views even if neither is exactly right - Our country has made the changes
needed to give blacks equal rights with whites OR Our country needs to continue making
changes to give blacks equal rights with whites.

8/2/15
Whites
Blacks

Country has made
needed changes
37
44
8

Country needs to
continue changes
60
53
90

Both
(vol.)
1
1
1

Neither
(vol.)
2
1
1

Trend from Pew:
Country has made
needed changes

Country needs to
continue changes

Both/Neither/
No opinion (vol.)

All:
8/2/15
3/16/14
3/14/11
9/6/10 RV
11/30/09

37
49
49
48
47

60
46
45
45
43

4
5
6
8
10

Whites:
8/2/15
3/16/14
3/14/11
9/6/10 RV
11/30/09

44
57
56
54
54

53
39
38
40
36

3
5
6
6
10

Blacks:
8/2/15
3/16/14
3/14/11
9/6/10 RV
11/30/09

8
17
17
18
13

90
79
79
77
81

2
4
4
5
6

*** END ***

No
opinion
1
1
0

 METHODOLOGICAL DETAILS
This poll was jointly sponsored and funded by The Washington Post and ABC News. The
poll is a random sample adults of the United States, including interviews in English
and Spanish. This questionnaire was administered with the exact questions in the exact
order as appears in this document. These questions were part of an “omnibus” survey in
which other questions were asked before or after these question.
A dual frame landline and cellular phone telephone sample was generated using Random
Digit Dialing procedures. Interviewers called landlines cellular phone numbers, first
requesting to speak with the youngest adult male or female at home. The final sample
included 500 interviews completed on landlines and 510 interviews completed via
cellular phones, including 299 interviews with adults in cell phone-only households.
This survey uses statistical weighting procedures to account for differential chances
of being selected due to landline and cellular phone access and household size.
Weighting also corrects for deviations in the survey sample from known population
characteristics, which helps correct for differential survey participation and random
variation in samples.
The overall adult sample is weighted using a raking procedure to match the demographic
makeup of the population by sex, region, age, education, race/ethnicity, marital
status, and population density according to Census estimates. The sample is also
weighted to match phone estimates of the share of the population who are cell phoneonly, landline-only and mixed user populations according to the National Health
Interview Survey.
All error margins have been adjusted to account for the survey’s design effect, which
is 1.44 for this survey. The design effect is a factor representing the survey’s
deviation from a simple random sample, and takes into account decreases in precision
due to sample design and weighting procedures. Surveys that do not incorporate a
design effect overstate their precision.
Group
All adults
Whites
Blacks

Sample size
1,010
639
124

Error margin (+/-)
3.5 points
4.5 points
10.5 points

Contact polls@washpost.com for further information about how The Washington Post
conducts polls.
The Washington Post is a charter member of AAPOR’s Transparency Initiative, which
recognizes organizations that disclose key methodological details on the research they
produce.