How is it that in the U.S.,surveys of 1,000 are accepted as representative of the entire country?

Question

I’ve noticed most U.S. polls query around 1,000 people and sometimes even less. Somehow that qualifies for headlines like “Americans say…” or “Most Americans…” How is it acceptable that 0.0002% of the population is accepted as representative?

In: Other

Answer 1

Because statistics say it is enough. If I remember correctly, the minimum sample size for a survey is around 800. That said, it doesn’t mean any survey of 800 people is representative of the country. Your method still has to be good and the samples have to be correct, you can’t just go to one neighborhood of 800 people ask them all a question and say their response is representative of the countr