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A method of survey in which a representative sampling of public opinion or public awareness concerning a certain subject/issue is done and on this basis a conclusion is drawn.
The credit of developing this research methodology goes to George H. Gallup (1901–84), a US journalist and statistician who in 1935 did set up the American Institute of Public Opinion. Through his efforts the method developed between the period 1935–40. In the coming times, the poll technique was immensely used by business houses for their market research and the psephologists for election forecasting, around the world.