Understanding Public Opinion

Click here to preview a sample chapter!In this highly anticipated revision, editors Barbara Norrander and Clyde Wilcox expose students to the substance and process of public opinion research in an accessible way. Capturing the diversity of this research with 12 essays&BAD:-10 new to this edition and 2 fully updated&BAD:-well-respected contributors highlight the many approaches social scientists use to explore public opinion while citing actual research and teasing out the political implications of their findings.Understanding Public Opinion expands on important ideas that basic textbooks cover only briefly, such as public views of those on trial for terrorist acts, public attitudes in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and the rise and fall of public support for George W. Bush. Part introductions provide important thematic context, and a statistics primer in the appendix offers students a handy reference. More relevant and thought-provoking than ever, Understanding Public Opinion is the ideal supplement for any public opinion course.

Barbara Norrander is professor of political science at the University of Arizona. She has published numerous articles on public opinion and voting behavior. Her recent research on public opinion examines the gender gap, ideology, capital punishment, abortion, and stem cell research. She also writes on Public opinion across the United States and on presidential nomination politics. Clyde Wilcox is professor of government at Georgetown University. He has written widely on the role of religion and gender in shaping public opinion and political behavior, on attitudes toward social issues such as abortion and gay rights, and on foreign policy. He has lectured on American public opinion and political behavior in a number of countries.