LikeSaveEdit AboutYouGov Organization YouGov is an international internet-based market research firm, headquartered in the UK, with operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. YouGov was founded in the UK in May 2000 by Stephan Shakespeare and Nadhim Zahawi. In April 2005, YouGov became a public company listed on the Alternative I... Continue Reading From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Edit on Wikipedia

YouGov.png Type Public limited company Traded as LSE: YOU Industry Market research Opinion polling Founded 2000 Founders Stephan Shakespeare Nadhim Zahawi Headquarters London, United Kingdom Area served Worldwide Key people Stephan Shakespeare (CEO) Roger Parry (Chairman) Revenue £88.2 million (2016)[1] Operating income £10.9 million (2016)[1] Number of employees 692 (2016) [1] Website yougov.com YouGov is an international internet-based market research firm, headquartered in the UK, with operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.[2] YouGov was founded in the UK in May 2000 by Stephan Shakespeare and Nadhim Zahawi. In April 2005, YouGov became a public company listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange.[3] Stephan Shakespeare has been YouGov’s Chief Executive Officer since 2010.[4] Roger Parry has been YouGov’s Chairman since 2007. [5] Political commentator Peter Kellner was YouGov’s President until he stepped down in 2016. [6] YouGov is a member of the British Polling Council.[7] Contents [hide] 1 Methodology 2 Accuracy 3 Expansions 4 See also 4.1 United Kingdom 4.2 United States 5 References 6 External links Methodology[edit] YouGov specialises in market research through online methods. The company’s methodology involves obtaining responses from an invited group of internet users, and then weighting these responses in line with demographic information. It draws these demographically-representative samples from a panel of 5 million people worldwide including over 800,000 people in the UK.[8] As YouGov's online methods use no field-force, its costs are lower than some face-to-face or telephone methods. Accuracy[edit] YouGov has claimed that its opinion polls are most accurate when compared to its competitors and in particular that its online methodology is more accurate than traditional polling methods.[9] Critics have argued that, as not all of the public have access to the internet, online samples cannot accurately reflect the views of the population as a whole.[10] YouGov counters that they have a representative panel and they are able to weight their data appropriately to reflect the national audience that they are aiming to poll.[11] During the United Kingdom general election 2005 campaign, most traditional polls reported Labour's support in the range from 38 to 41%, compared with the 36% it achieved on polling day. In contrast, YouGov's nine polls during the final three weeks of the campaign all showed Labour on 36 or 37%, although GfK NOP (published in The Independent) gave the most accurate forecast in their final poll before the election. During the United Kingdom general election, 2015 campaign, the final predictions of all pollsters (including YouGov) underestimated the Conservative lead over Labour. Consequently, The British Polling Council announced it was setting up an independent enquiry to look into the possible causes of this apparent bias.[12] During the London mayoral election, 2008 campaign, a YouGov poll placed Boris Johnson 13% ahead of the incumbent Ken Livingstone. Livingstone's campaign team branded the poll "fundamentally flawed", arguing that it failed to take account of London's larger ethnic minority population compared to the rest of the country, and saying that it would complain to the Market Research Council of Great Britain.[13] Ipsos MORI and ICM polls put the candidates neck-and-neck.[14] A subsequent poll was derided by Livingstone as "a transparent attempt by the Evening Standard/YouGov to give Boris Johnson a more credible lead".[15] However, Livingstone never made the official complaint that had been announced to the media, and in the event, YouGov's final poll showing Johnson in the lead by 6% was the only accurate prediction.[16] YouGov’s final poll on the London mayoral election 2012 showed Boris Johnson beating Ken Livingstone by 5% in the first round, and by 6% (53%-47%) in the second round.[17] The final outcome saw Johnson lead by 4% in the first round, winning the election by 4% (52%-48%) after second preferences were re-allocated. Two weeks before the Scottish independence referendum, 2014, a YouGov poll indicated that the vote would be much closer than anticipated.[18] The YouGov poll gave those in favour of independence 47% versus 45% for those against; after excluding those undecided, the figures were 51% and 49%, respectively. In the last few days of the campaign, polls indicated a lead for No of 4-6%. Soon after polling stations had closed, YouGov released a final poll that had been taken during the day of voting, indicating 46% Yes, 54% No. The actual result was 45% Yes, 55% No. During the French presidential election, 2012 campaign, YouGov predicted François Hollande would achieve 30% of the vote and Nicolas Sarkozy 26% (the actual result was 29% and 27% respectively).[19] During the United States presidential election, 2012 campaign, on the basis of one of the most extensive opinion polls ever conducted, YouGov predicted that Barack Obama would win the national vote by 2%.[20] This prediction proved to be one of the most accurate out of all pollsters covering the election.[21] As well as political predictions, YouGov is known for its accurate predictions relating to popular culture. For example, in 2002 YouGov’s prediction of a victory for Will Young in the UK Pop Idol contest gave YouGov its first major media attention having been the only research organisation to get this right.[22] In 2012, YouGov correctly predicted a win for James Arthur in the 2012 X Factor contest. In a poll of The X Factor watchers conducted before the final weekend, YouGov accurately predicted that James would be crowned the winner, Jahmene Douglas would be the runner-up, and that Christopher Maloney would be eliminated on Saturday night.[23] According to the X-Factor, the Saturday voting numbers were 52% for James, 32% for Jahmene, and 17% for Christopher. YouGov’s figures were James 50%, Jahmene 35%, and Christopher 15%.[24] In January 2013, YouGov accurately predicted the volume of global Apple iPhone sales.[25] Opinion poll analysis website FiveThirtyEight assigns YouGov a grade of B, calling 93 percent of races correctly, and with a slight bias towards the Democratic Party in United States elections. [26] Expansions[edit] In 2006 YouGov began expanding outside the UK through acquisitions and acquired Dubai-based research firm Siraj for $1.2 million plus an eventual earn out of $600,000. In 2007 they added Palo Alto, CA based US research firm Polimetrix for approximately $17 million, Scandinavian firm Zapera for $8 million and German firm Psychonomics for $20 million. In 2009 and 2010, YouGov expanded its US operations with two acquisitions; first buying Princeton, NJ research firm Clear Horizons for $600,000 plus an earn out of $2.7 million, then Connecticut-based research firm Harrison Group for $6 million with a $7 million earnout. In 2011, YouGov acquired Portland, OR-based firm Definitive Insights for $1 million with a potential $2 million earn out. In 2011, YouGov made its first organic expansion by opening an office in Paris, France. In January 2014, YouGov entered the Asia Pacific region with the acquisition of Decision Fuel for an estimated consideration of approximately £5 million.[27] See also[edit] United Kingdom[edit] Opinion polling for the 2005 United Kingdom general election Opinion polling for the 2010 United Kingdom general election Opinion polling for the 2015 United Kingdom general election Opinion polling for the Scottish independence referendum, 2014 United States[edit] Nationwide opinion polling for the United States presidential election, 2012 Statewide opinion polling for the United States presidential election, 2012 References[edit] ^ Jump up to: a b c "YouGov Preliminary Results 2016" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-10-11. Jump up ^ "YouGov offices". Retrieved 2015-05-31. Jump up ^ "London Stock Exchange - YouGov". London Stock Exchange. Retrieved 2015-05-31. Jump up ^ "Zahawi stands for parliament and steps down as yougov ceo". Research Live. 2010-02-22. Jump up ^ "Parry takes post at YouGov". The Guardian. 2007-01-15. Jump up ^ "YouGov President Peter Kellner to Step Down". MR Web. 2016-02-15. Jump up ^ "British Polling Council Officers and Members". Jump up ^ "YouGov Panel". Retrieved 2015-05-31. Jump up ^ "YouGov Panel Methodology - research Q&A's". Retrieved 2015-05-31. Jump up ^ "Livingstone criticises YouGov". Pink News. 2008-04-07. Jump up ^ "YouGov Panel Methodology". Retrieved 2015-05-31. Jump up ^ "Independent inquiry into why the preelection polls were so inaccurate". The Independent. 2005-05-08. Jump up ^ "Mayor makes complaint against YouGov over polling". The Guardian. 2008-04-07. Jump up ^ "Livingstone leads Johnson in latest poll". The Guardian. 2008-04-09. Jump up ^ "London: Mayor & More". Dave Hill (The Guardian writer). 2008-05-01. Retrieved 2015-05-31. Jump up ^ "Boris and YouGov Triumphant". MrWeb. 2008-05-06. Jump up ^ "Final poll puts Boris Johnson ahead by six points in Mayor race". The Standard. 2012-05-03. Jump up ^ "YouGov poll finds rapid shift in favour of Scottish independence". The Financial Times. 2014-09-02. Jump up ^ "What happens after France's first election round?". BBC News. 2012-04-23. Jump up ^ "U.S. Election: YouGov Poll In UK Says Obama Will Win". Huffington Post. 2012-11-05. Jump up ^ "Which pollsters to trust, in one chart". Washington Post. 2012-11-07. Jump up ^ "Internet polling gets to heart of the matter". The Telegraph. 2002-04-27. Retrieved 2015-06-17. Jump up ^ "YouGov gets it right on X-Factor". 2012-12-10. Retrieved 2013-09-29. Jump up ^ "The X Factor voting numbers revealed HERE!". ITV. 2012-12-09. Retrieved 2013-09-29. Jump up ^ "Perception Scores Show Samsung, Apple at Parity". Forbes. 2013-01-17. Retrieved 2013-09-29. Jump up ^ King R, Scheinkman A, Silver N. "FiveThirtyEight's Pollster Ratings". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved 10 February 2016. Jump up ^ "Acquisition of Decision Fuel". Investegate. 2014-01-09. Retrieved 2014-01-20. External links[edit] Official website Categories: Service companies of the United KingdomPublic opinion research companiesCompanies established in 2000Marketing research companies of the United Kingdom2000 establishments in the United KingdomOpinion polling in the United Kingdom Navigation menu Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch Search Wikipedia Go Main page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Donate to Wikipedia Wikipedia store Interaction Help About Wikipedia Community portal Recent changes Contact page Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Wikidata item Cite this page Print/export Create a book Download as PDF Printable version Languages العربية Català Dansk Deutsch Français Norsk bokmål Português Svenska Türkçe Edit links This page was last modified on 11 October 2016, at 13:09. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile view