Polling and the Public : What Every Citizen

Herbert Asher is professor emeritus of political science at Ohio State University.

Preface

ix

Polling and the Public

1

(27)

The Importance of Polls

2

(1)

The Pervasiveness of Polls

3

(2)

Commissioned Polls

5

(9)

The Citizen as a Consumer of Polls

14

(1)

Citizens' Views of Polls

15

(5)

Polling and Democracy

20

(7)

Exercises

27

(1)

The Problem of Nonattitudes

28

(22)

An Example of Nonattitudes

31

(1)

The Use of Screening Questions

32

(5)

Nonattitudes and the Middle Position in Survey Questions

37

(4)

Response Instability and Nonattitudes

41

(3)

Implications for Democracy and Public Policy

44

(3)

Conclusion

47

(2)

Exercises

49

(1)

Wording and Context of Questions

50

(19)

Question Wording

52

(9)

Question Order and Context

61

(6)

Conclusion

67

(1)

Exercises

68

(1)

Sampling Techniques

69

(20)

Sampling Designs

70

(7)

Sample Size and Sampling Error

77

(3)

Total versus Actual Sample Size

80

(2)

Response Rates

82

(3)

Weighting the Sample

85

(2)

Conclusion

87

(1)

Exercises

87

(2)

Interviewing and Data Collection Procedures

89

(15)

Methods of Collecting Polling Information

90

(4)

Interviewer Effects in Public Opinion Polling

94

(4)

Internet Polling

98

(4)

Conclusion

102

(1)

Exercises

103

(1)

The Media and the Polls

104

(21)

Standards for Reporting Results

105

(7)

Substantive Interpretation of Polls

112

(5)

Media, Polls, and the News Reporting Emphasis

117

(4)

Conclusion

121

(2)

Exercises

123

(2)

Polls and Elections

125

(34)

Sponsors of Election Polls

125

(1)

Types of Election Polls

126

(15)

Uses of Polls by Candidates

141

(1)

Polls in the Presidential Selection Process

142

(5)

When and Why Election Predictions Are Wrong

147

(8)

How Preelection Polls Affect Voters

155

(2)

Conclusion

157

(1)

Exercises

157

(2)

Analyzing and Interpreting Polls

159

(30)

Choosing Items to Analyze

160

(12)

Examining Trends with Polling Data

172

(2)

Examining Subsets of Respondents

174

(6)

Interpreting Poll Results

180

(5)

When Polls Conflict: A Concluding Example

185

(2)

Exercises

187

(2)

Polling and Democracy

189

(13)

How to Evaluate Polls: A Summary

190

(3)

Polls and Their Effect on the Political System

193

(7)

Conclusion

200

(1)

Exercise

201

(1)

Web Sites

202

(3)

References

205

(18)

Index

223

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Polling and the Public : What Every Citizen Should Know

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials