Data restored from a 1981 Iowa Poll shows that Iowans overwhelmingly believed that people tell the truth when answering questions for public opinion polls. These data come from Iowa Poll #248, a random sample survey of 1,011 Iowans from April of 1981 which has been restored as part of a larger project to recover lost data from past Iowa polls.

Respondents were asked, “Do you think most people are truthful when they answer questions in public opinion polls or not?” Respondents were given the choice to answer “yes, truthful,” “no,” or “don’t know.” Iowans broadly agreed that poll respondents are truthful, with 85.6% answering “yes” and only 10% answering “no.” A notable difference in this consensus on polling respondent honesty exists between respondents who did and did not vote in the 1980 election. 87% of respondents who voted in the 1980 presidential election believed that people are generally truthful when responding to public opinion polls, compared to 81.5% of those who did not vote in 1980. 

Nearly one-third of respondents said that they had participated in an opinion poll previously. Respondents were asked, “Have you ever been interviewed before for a public opinion poll or not?” Respondents were given the choice to answer “yes,” “no,” or “can’t recall.” Most Iowans hadn’t been interviewed for a public opinion poll before: 31.5% answered “yes,” whereas 67.8% said “no.” Differences in respondents’ answers varied a bit across age groups. Respondents age 50-64 and 30-49 had been previously polled at the highest rates, at 36.6% and 24.6%, respectively. The youngest and oldest respondents were least likely to have been polled: Only 29.8% of respondents aged 65+ and 24.4% ages 18-29 had previously been polled. 

Iowa Poll #248, conducted by the Des Moines Register, was administered to a random sample of Iowans in April 1981. In addition to the questions about public opinion polls, the survey asked respondents their opinions on a wide variety of topics, including the recent assassination attempt on President Reagan, personal finances, school spending, smoking habits, and handgun control. Understanding Iowans’ past opinions on these topics can help us understand how perspectives have changed and what ideas have remained popular. IPOL has also been working with UI Libraries and the Des Moines Register to restore data from dozens of Iowa Polls from the 1960s to early 1980s. More information about the project can be found here. We are working to release a full report on our findings as we analyze additional questions.