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CHAPTER ELEVEN Explore General
Wondering what public opinion is on a recent
controversial issue? Go to pollingreport.com,
and you are sure to find the answer. This amazing
site contains results from nationwide polls on a variety of issues that are
currently in the news. (See Exercises.) Media polling organizations
The only newspaper to regularly conduct its
own in-house polls is the Los Angeles
Times. It regularly carries out polls on issues of importance to the
nation, California, and Los Angeles. The Time Poll link also provides an alternative to the network-funded
exit poll consortium, as it regularly conducts exit polls on national,
California, and Los Angeles elections. Results of all Times polls are available for free on the web site. (See
Exercises.) The Washington Post also
regularly conducts polls on national issues (sometimes in conjunction with ABC
News). Its polling web site contains articles on the poll results. Students
interested in polling methodology will want to check out the FAQ and Detailed
Methodology links. Similar links are available
to polls conducted by other media organizations including ABC News and CBS News. Private polling organizations
The granddaddy of polling organizations, the Gallup Organization provides
visitors to its web site with daily polls on a variety of topics, including the
famous and much-revered Gallup presidential approval question. Although visitors must be members to view the entire poll,
anyone can watch "The Gallup Poll Daily Briefing," where Gallup Poll
Editor-in-Chief Frank Newport provides interesting commentary on recent Gallup
polls (requires Macromedia Flash Player). Also available to all visitors is the
Gallup Poll blog. (See Exercises.) The Pew Research
Center for the People and the Press is an
independent opinion research group, headed by Andrew Kohut, the focus of this
chapter's "Profiles in Citizenship." The Center studies attitudes
toward the press, politics, and public policy issues. Visitors have the
opportunity to download datasets
of surveys conducted by the Center and to read
commentary on recent Pew surveys. The Pew Research
Center for the Press and Public Agenda contains
enormous amounts of information regarding public opinion on a wide array of
issues. The Public Agenda web site allows visitors to examine issues such as abortion, the economy, education, gay rights, and
social security. Clicking on each issue provides links to an immense amount of
information regarding the major debates and public opinion on those issues.
This would be an exceptional resource for a research paper. The web site for Zogby International, the
polling company founded by John Zogby, contains information on recent polls
conducted by the organization on everything from the president's job approval
ratings to America's favorite fast-food restaurant. The Center on Policy
Attitudes is an organization that conducts
polls and focus groups to report the findings to policymakers, journalists,
academics, and the public. The Center's goal is to make policy responsive to
the people's wishes and, contrary to what much research on the subject has
found, the Center argues that policymakers are not responsive to their constituents
wants. Visitors can read recent news articles, browse studies on education and
health care, and look at the Americans
Around the World Digest, which provides
in-depth studies on Americans' opinions on world issues. Anyone interested in California politics
will want to check out The Field Poll's
web site. This nonpartisan polling organization
regularly conducts polls on a variety of issues. Particularly interesting is
the California
Opinion Index, which includes reports on
political, economic, and social issues that face the state. Data consortiums
Social scientists would have a difficult time
conducting their research if not for the University of Michigan's Inter-University Consortium for
Political and Social Research (ICPSR). Though
the site requires a university membership to access data, students can find
public opinion questions (and data in general) on almost every subject
imaginable. Also housed at the University of Michigan is
the famous National Election
Study, the most comprehensive survey on
American elections and conducted every two years. Students can access time-series data on subjects such as religion, ideology, party
identification, and the public's views on several issues, to name just a few. The Roper Center,
housed at the University of Connecticut, contains a
vast array of public opinion datasets on everything from public confidence in
the Supreme Court to the Latin American Databank. The Center also holds the
2004 exit polls (available only to member institutions or for a fee). Visitors
might also want to check out the Presidential
Approval of George Bush link, which provides
detailed information on the public's views of the president (there is no
charge). Professional polling organizations
The American
Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) is
one of the largest public opinion organizations in the country. On AAPOR's web
site, you can view press releases from the organization on ethical questions in
polling and learn about acceptable polling practices. Check out the "VOX
BOX," which provides links to recent polls and studies. The organization
publishes Public Opinion Quarterly, one of
the most cited journals on public opinion research. On the web site, visitors can
search for articles published in the journal and have the opportunity to sign
up for emails announcing the recent issue's table of contents. This is another
helpful site for research. Another organization dedicated to upholding
professional and ethical standards for pollsters is the National Council on Public Polls. Particularly useful is the organization's "20 Questions a Journalist Should Ask
About Poll Results." These are questions
that all people, not just journalists, should keep in mind when reporting poll
results. (See Explore.) KEEPING THE REPUBLIC Understanding how to read public opinion is a vital skill for a politician. It is also a useful exercise for you!
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