What are the major types of political polls in use today and what are the defining characteristics of each?

What will be an ideal response?

National polls are designed to measure public opinion within a limited period of time using a national representative sample. The ultimate purpose of these polls is to measure knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes. Campaign polls, which are done for candidates are part of their efforts to win election, include benchmark, tracking, and exit polls. Benchmark polls are used to gather baseline information about how well a candidate is known, what issues people associate with a particular candidate, what issues people are concerned about, as well as assessing the opposition. Tracking polls follow changes in attitudes toward a candidate. Exit polls collect data on voter choice, some demographic information, issue preferences, and candidate evaluation. Pseudo-Polls, including such things as self-selection polls, are typically more deceptive than beneficial as they can include anything from misleading information to outright fraud. Self-selection polls allow people to select themselves into a survey rather than being chosen randomly. Push polls are another type of pseudo-poll that present false or highly negative information, often in a hypothetical form, and then ask for respondents to react to it. Survey experiments are designed less to measure public opinion but rather deepen understanding of public attitudes, particularly with regard to controversial issues.