The Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP) represents a cornerstone of contemporary public opinion research, offering a robust framework for understanding the diverse perspectives of U.S. adults. Wave 190 of this nationally representative panel, conducted from March 23 to March 29, 2026, provides critical data for a wide range of analyses. The survey achieved a strong response rate of 87%, with 3,507 panelists out of 4,046 sampled individuals completing the survey. This high engagement rate is a testament to the panel’s rigorous methodology and ongoing efforts to maintain participant trust and participation.
Comprehensive Survey Design and Execution
The methodology underpinning Wave 190 of the ATP is designed to ensure the highest possible degree of accuracy and representativeness. A total of 3,507 U.S. adults participated in this wave, reflecting a significant undertaking in data collection. The overall survey-level response rate stood at an impressive 87%, indicating a high level of engagement from the sampled panelists. This figure is further contextualized by a cumulative response rate of 3%, which accounts for the cumulative nonresponse at the recruitment stage and subsequent panel attrition over time. This sustained effort is crucial for maintaining a stable and representative panel. The break-off rate, measuring the percentage of panelists who started but did not complete the survey, was a minimal 1%, underscoring the survey’s design and the panelists’ commitment.
A key element of the ATP’s methodology is its commitment to providing precise estimates for smaller demographic subgroups. To achieve this, the survey employed an oversample of Muslim, Jewish, and non-Hispanic Asian adults. This deliberate strategy ensures that the opinions and experiences of these often underrepresented groups are captured with greater statistical power. These oversampled groups are then carefully weighted back to reflect their accurate proportions within the broader U.S. adult population, thereby maintaining the overall representativeness of the findings.
The data collection for Wave 190 was a multi-modal effort, conducted by SSRS on behalf of Pew Research Center. This involved a substantial number of online interviews (n=3,377) supplemented by live telephone interviews (n=130). The survey was administered in both English and Spanish, ensuring accessibility and inclusivity for a wider range of respondents. For those interested in a deeper understanding of the ATP’s operational framework, comprehensive details are available in the "About the American Trends Panel" resource.
Panel Recruitment: A Foundation of Trust and Reach
Since 2018, the ATP has relied on address-based sampling (ABS) as its primary recruitment method. This approach begins with mailing a cover letter and a pre-incentive to a stratified, random sample of U.S. households. These households are selected from the U.S. Postal Service’s Computerized Delivery Sequence File, which is estimated to cover between 90% and 98% of the U.S. population. Within each selected household, the adult who will have their next birthday is identified as the potential participant. While the specific details of the ABS recruitment protocol have evolved since its inception, they are available upon request. Prior to 2018, the ATP was recruited through landline and cellphone random-digit-dial surveys, conducted in both English and Spanish.
The ATP has consistently recruited a national sample of U.S. adults on an annual basis since 2014. In certain years, enhanced recruitment efforts, referred to as "oversamples," have been implemented to bolster the accuracy of data for specific demographic groups. For instance, Hispanic adults were oversampled in 2019, Black adults in 2022, and Asian adults in 2023, reflecting a proactive approach to ensuring comprehensive demographic representation over time.
Sample Design: Precision and Proportionality
The target population for this survey encompassed noninstitutionalized individuals aged 18 and older residing in the United States. The sample design for Wave 190 utilized a stratified random sample drawn from the ATP. A critical feature of this design was the selection of Muslim, Jewish, and non-Hispanic Asian adults with certainty, underscoring the importance of these groups in the analytical framework. The remaining panelists were sampled at rates meticulously calculated to ensure that the proportion of respondents within each stratum closely mirrored their proportion in the overall U.S. adult population. The subsequent adjustment of respondent weights is a crucial step in correcting for any differential probabilities of selection, as detailed in the weighting section.
Questionnaire Development and Testing: Ensuring Data Integrity
The development of the survey questionnaire for Wave 190 was a collaborative process, undertaken by Pew Research Center in close consultation with SSRS. To guarantee the reliability of the data, the online survey program underwent rigorous testing. This included comprehensive evaluations on both personal computers and mobile devices, conducted by the SSRS project team and Pew Research Center researchers. Furthermore, the SSRS project team meticulously populated test data, which was then analyzed using SPSS to confirm the integrity of the survey logic and any implemented randomizations before the official launch. This thorough pre-launch vetting process is fundamental to producing accurate and dependable survey results.
Incentives: Fostering Participation and Equity
To encourage participation and acknowledge the valuable contribution of panelists, all respondents were offered a post-paid incentive. Participants had the flexibility to choose their incentive in the form of a check or a digital gift code redeemable at major online retailers such as Amazon.com, Target.com, or Walmart.com. The incentive amounts varied between $5 and $20, with the differential being determined by the relative difficulty of reaching specific population segments. This tiered incentive structure is a strategic element designed to enhance survey participation rates among groups that have historically exhibited lower response propensities, thereby promoting greater equity in data collection.
Data Collection Protocol: A Structured and Responsive Approach
The field period for data collection for Wave 190 spanned from March 23 to March 29, 2026. The survey was administered through two primary channels: self-administered web surveys and live telephone interviewing.
For panelists opting for online participation, the process was initiated with postcard notifications mailed to a subset of the panel on March 23. The survey invitations were then disseminated in two distinct phases: a soft launch and a full launch. The soft launch, commencing on March 23, included approximately sixty panelists and served as a final pilot test. Subsequently, on March 24, all remaining English- and Spanish-speaking sampled online panelists received their survey invitations as part of the full launch. Online participants received an email invitation, and if they did not respond, up to two subsequent email reminders were sent. For those who had consented to receive SMS messages, an SMS invitation with a direct link to the survey was dispatched, accompanied by up to two SMS reminders.
Panelists preferring to participate via telephone with a live interviewer followed a slightly different, yet equally structured, protocol. Prenotification postcards were mailed on March 20. A soft launch for telephone interviews began on March 23, with dialing continuing until three completed interviews were secured. Following this, the phone numbers of all remaining English- and Spanish-speaking sampled panelists were dialed throughout the remainder of the field period. To ensure comprehensive data capture, panelists participating via phone could receive up to six calls from trained SSRS interviewers.
Data Quality Checks: Upholding the Integrity of Findings
Maintaining the highest standards of data quality is paramount for Pew Research Center. To this end, dedicated checks were performed by Center researchers to identify any respondents exhibiting patterns indicative of satisficing. This rigorous examination involved scrutinizing response behavior, such as unusually high rates of unanswered questions or consistent selection of the first or last answer option presented. As a direct result of these meticulous data quality checks, five ATP respondents were excluded from the survey dataset prior to the weighting and analysis phases, thereby safeguarding the integrity of the final findings.
Weighting: Adjusting for Representation and Variance
The weighting process for ATP data is a multi-stage procedure designed to meticulously account for variations in sampling and nonresponse that occur at different points throughout the panel survey lifecycle. Initially, each panelist is assigned a base weight that reflects their probability of recruitment into the panel. These base weights are subsequently calibrated to align with population benchmarks, as detailed in accompanying tables, to correct for nonresponse during the recruitment surveys and for panel attrition over time. If only a specific subsample of panelists is invited to participate in a given wave, this weight is further adjusted to account for any differential probabilities of selection within that subsample.
For panelists who successfully complete the survey, the weights undergo another calibration process. This final calibration ensures alignment with the population benchmarks identified in the relevant tables. To mitigate any potential loss in precision that might arise from significant variance in weights, the weights are trimmed at the 1st and 99th percentiles. Importantly, all calculations of sampling errors and tests of statistical significance are conducted with careful consideration for the effect of these weighting adjustments.
The accompanying tables provide detailed breakdowns of the unweighted sample sizes and the expected sampling errors at a 95% confidence level for various demographic groups within the survey. Sample sizes and sampling errors for additional subgroups are available upon request. It is important to note that beyond sampling error, potential biases can also be introduced by question wording and practical challenges inherent in conducting surveys.
Response Rates and Dispositions: A Measure of Panel Health
The tables detailing final dispositions and cumulative response rates offer a transparent view of the panel’s engagement and the overall success of the data collection effort. These metrics are crucial for understanding the representativeness and reliability of the survey findings. The high survey-level response rate of 87% for Wave 190, combined with the comprehensive data collection and weighting procedures, underscores the Pew Research Center’s commitment to producing high-quality, reliable public opinion data. This rigorous methodological approach ensures that the insights gleaned from the American Trends Panel are both accurate and broadly applicable, providing valuable context for understanding the evolving landscape of American public opinion.
