To wit, we have three specific goals here. First, we want to review the activities of the three-hatted pollster. We do this to provide greater context for each type of pollster. Some of us are all three; others are some combination of these. Any pollster worth their salt must at least be a data scientist, or they risk losing credibility.

Second, we explore the role of the pollster in society. Ultimately, what is the purpose of the pollster? In our view, pollsters are critically important in any democracy. We believe this is often overlooked due to the ranking frenzy after every electoral cycle. Here, we put the profession into proper perspective.

And third, we discuss the use of non-survey, or alternative data, inputs as proxy measures for public opinion. We provide a framework for pollsters to think through them in a critical manner. Validation is a key concept which we introduce here – one more tool for the data scientist.