One of the greatest research tools you can use is that of polls, or surveys. These give you the perspective of many people and audiences and allow you to draw conclusions based on their answers. However, you may be confused regarding the specific Modern Language Association format needed for a poll study.
Poll Format
If you are citing information from a poll or survey conducted by another person, include the person who created the survey, the name of their survey -- in italics -- the city, state and specific location of the survey, the date of the survey and the medium in which the survey was published. An example of a citation on the Works Cited page would read:
Smith, John. Survey of Students in Lower Income Areas. Seabrook, SC: Sharktree Middle School. 05 June 2013. Web.
An in-text citation of such an entry follows standard MLA citation rules and would be written as:
(Smith).
Considerations
If you created the poll or survey, the citation format for both the in-text citation and the Works Cited entry would look the same.
Additionally, you help the reader greatly if you introduce the poll within the paper itself, including details regarding its questions, audience, location and results. Include a copy of the questions used in your poll as an appendix in your essay.